5 yr old dropped off at wrong bus stop?

Question

Today was my daughters first day of kindergarten. I took her to school and walked her to her class, but she was going to ride the bus home. I was out there waiting for her and the bus went by and I ran to catch up with it about 5 houses down on the street that intersects with our just ot find out that he had drop MY 5 YEAR OLD off one stop back. First off who would let a 5 yr old off the bus with no adult there and second they had all the kids in the younger grades wearing a HUGE sticker that had there name, bus number, and which street they were to be dropped off at. Soooo obviously the driver didnt even look and let her off at the wrong stop. On top of this as I'm trying to find out wherehe dropped her off he starts saying that "you need to tell your kid that when she exits the bus to walk around the front of it and not the back." Ummm... this is coming from a man that lost my kid not to mention it was her first time of ever riding the bus. Isnt that what he gets paid to do is to inform kids of this and not expect a 5 yr old who's never riden before to know. I call the main bus line for the district and pretty much got blown off with a "we will talk to him...." I will be taking her to and from school from now on, but am I being unreasonable in expecting that my child make it home safely?????

Answer 1

The bus driver seems like he doesn't need to be driving a school bus. He is not doing his job correctly. I would be pissed. Someone would have a lot of explaining to do. He should not let her get off the bus unless there is someone there to pick her up. I am pretty sure with the younger children they have to have someone waiting for them before they are allowed to get off.

Maybe it is different in other districts but here in CA the children have to be crossed by the driver, meaning the driver has to put the sign out on the side of the bus then get out and hold up a stop sign and make sure the children get across safely. They are not allowed to cross by themselves. This has been the law since I was in school, 7yrs ago now. Even in highschool they would cross you. I think you need to get on the phone again and talk to the person in charge of the busses at your school.

Answer 2

Not acceptable. Go in and tell the principal- call the bus company. Call the local paper - let other moms know the danger!

Answer 3

I used to take the bus! but i remember the driver always wating till i was out of the street and away from the main road before leaving. I would be mad too! my kid wont ride the bus!

Answer 4

I'd be pissed too. They are not supposed to let kindergartens off unless there is someone at the stop to take her. I would call the school in the a.m.  

Answer 5

this happened to me a couple of times. the first: he was dropped off a block over. the only reason it was okay was because my oldest was told to watch for him

the other 2 times, he was dropped off at home and he was supposed to go to latchkey. anotherwards, if my husband happened to work early that day, which was why we had latchkey in the first place, then he would have been home alone for 3 hours.

i would not take him back and forth to school.  i would call the school and ask the process of bus routing in your area. i griped at the school both times, and found out that it was the bus route itself thea was screwed up. then go raise h**l with the bus barn. 90% of the time, it is the bus driver or bus barns fault.

i would not give in to them putting your child in danger. if you take him back and forth, they will not have a chance to rectify the situation and another child could get hurt. i would be on them like white on rice and watch everyday, and if he is so much as dropped a house farther away than what he is supposed to be, call and raise h**l, or better yet go to the bus place in the morning or that night. -honey, he is 5. if you cave on this, you will  have a long way to go until they realize you aren't playing around.

i raised holy h**l and would not give in-it got to the point that if they seen me, it was it. they better figure sonething out real quick, or the school board was going to have alot of problems when i was finished with them. needless to say it never happened again, and he is 8 now.

Answer 6

Absolutely not!  Especially in a situation like this, where the child is a 5 year old- the bus drivers are supposed to make certain that the children are dropped at the correct place.  I'd do the safe thing, and take my child from now on... I've heard too many horror stories about children being left on the bus all the way back to the bus base, or dropped at the wrong place- it's just not worth it.  

Call back and complain again to the transportation department.  Of course, it is the first day of school, and the driver is learning the kids and the route... but they should be extra vigilant on the first days- especially when they have a group of children who have never ridden a bus before!

Answer 7

Oh my goodness, how scary!  I hope your daughter wasn't too upset about the whole ordeal.  I can only imagine how scary that must have been for you!  =(

I hope you chewed the bus driver out for his foolish mistake.  Also, call the principal and make sure he or she is aware of the situation.  Finally, file a HUGE complaint with the bus company.  The driver is an idiot who needs to be reprimanded for this.  

Answer 8

Bus drivers are ALWAYS really stupid; 5 year olds are not capable of getting on and off the bus by themselves and they do need a parent there when getting on and off the bus. I'd call the principal and complain until he or she does something. Seriously so many things happen to young kids these days, you can never be so sure. Make sure you go over bus safety with her because bus drivers don't go over it with the kids, tell her to always cross in front of the bus, stay seated until it's her stop, and to make sure that mommy or daddy is waiting for her. Good luck, the first few days are always the toughest. I started college today and I can remember some bad bus drivers.  

Answer 9

your not unreasonable but you have to understand its your job to teach her bus safety not his

you need to make her understand shes not to get off anywhere but where mommy is or whoever else may pick her up.

and tell her to always cross in front of the bus the driver cant see behind him

the first few days are the roughest.  getting used to a new route new kids and what not

put her on the bus again but talk to her in depth about bus safety its in her district guide go over it her every day

Answer 10

I don't think you being unreasonable. My daughter is 4 and I would be very upset! I would do the same thing as you.

Answer 11

demand he be fired, that is just unacceptable.

Answer 12

I don't think your expectations are too high at all!  I would make sure to talk to her principal about what happened, if this has happened a lot, even with their efforts to label all the children, it's something the school will need to address.

Also follow up to see what has happened, if appropriate action has been taken, trying the bus again might be worth a try, if you are able to pick her up every day, teach your daughter to refuse to get off the bus unless she sees you outside waiting.

Answer 13

This happened to my nephew actually my sister was livid. I am sorry there was a mix up was not good enough for her. As she contacted higher ups it was determined that although he had a tag on his teacher (new employee not used to the procedure) but him in the wrong line.

His mom got a personal apology. Everyone was on notice of this mix up and it never occurred again. She lost confidence in this teacher from then on and it was a very long year.

There is no excuse that is acceptable for the fear/panic you had. Compounded by the flippant attitude from the driver. I am glad you were close by and that your daughter is well. I am sure it was frightening for her too.

Given my sisters situation I am certain all parties informed about this will work to ensure to never repeat this mistake with your child again.

So glad she is safe!

Answer 14

I would have demanded the highest manager at the school bus dept and called the principal of the school. That is not acceptable. That guy should be fired for losing a 5 year old. What if she had gotten hurt, or wandered off looking for you? Ugh, that makes me so mad. Call back and don't accept any response that doesn't give a serious resolution to the situation.

Answer 15

WOW

I would have freaked, and sounds like you handled yourself better then I would have!!

You are not being unreasonable, you make sure this does not happen to someone elses kid!!  

Your child is physically, and mentally ok? I sure hope so!!  

Answer 16

Our school district has a Kindergarten Bus that actually pulls up in your driveway to get your child and delivers them back to your driveway.  This eliminates at lot of stress both on Mom and kid.  Perhaps you can go to your school board meeting and see if this is a feasible alternate for kindergarten kids.

In the meantime, ask for a copy of the bus rules.  This will give you a better leg to stand on to take action against this unthinkable error.  I would be hopping mad also.  A five year old has no business being dropped off at the wrong site.