No problem except the VIPs should not need to ask questions about who the kid is. The father should have made the kid's identity a clearly established fact before the start of the event.
Maybe so, but once they knew - and could easily verify who bought the kid's pass - that should have been the end of it
American culture has got to where people think they are responsible for someone else's kids, and they run wild with the virtue signaling and feelings warfare.
A kid left in a VIP tent, where the parent knows where he is, and he can tell the VIPs who he is and what he's doing there, is in basically zero danger. And entirely capable of looking after himself, just as he could in a restaurant, grocery store, or neighborhood park.
This drama started when the local Karens decided oh no, there's a kid here, must be in danger, we have to do something, we should be mad about it. When the sensible thing to do is say, "oh your Dad's in the race? Well hope he does well, let us know if you need anything. Snack bar's over there, toilet's over there, there's some couches and chairs, have fun."
Too many people around without lives, that's the real problem. They need problems and make them at every opportunity.
Agreed. All Karens should be arrested and held without bail. From the time I was 5 I was untethered and free to play wherever I wanted. By the time I was 9 that meant all day with my friends frequently biking 2-3 miles away, only returning when the streetlights cam on. Dinner, then back out until 10pm.
This whole thing is ridiculous especially from the caterwauling Karens.
What about from the kid’s perspective? Sitting by yourself in a tent for 10 (15?) hours with adults you don’t know and aren’t paying attention is not same thing as hanging out with your friends all day. What if his phone charge only lasted five hours?
The father put himself ahead of his son and deserves what he got. It might have be the tip of an iceberg so a home visit from the CPS would be in order.
No problem except the VIPs should not need to ask questions about who the kid is. The father should have made the kid's identity a clearly established fact before the start of the event.
Maybe so, but once they knew - and could easily verify who bought the kid's pass - that should have been the end of it
I'm pretty sure that if the parent had told the VIP tent staff "this is my kid, I'm leaving him here until I finish in 16 hours, please keep an eye on him" he would have been told that the VIP tent is not a babysitting facility and no, you can't leave your kid here with us.
Having the guy arrested was clearly a huge overreaction--the kid was not in danger. However, the guy was surely guilty of being a terrible parent, and I think pulling him off the course was a reasonable response.
lol. I was babysitting other people’s kids by 9yo. In what world is a 9yo in mortal danger if not in the immediate presence of their parents for a couple hours. Who was the Karen that called the cops?
The parents who hired a 9 year old to watch their kids should be arrested too.
I date a litany of single moms and I can say many of them leave their young kids at home unattended all the time (unfortunately). Not like daddy's ever around either though, but the mother is culpable for choosing a bad partner. They would never get hit with child neglect unless the child was seriously injured or dead due to them not being home. The child protection services are called daily and can confiscate children due to poor parenting, but leaving them at home while the broads at work would not even qualify to meet their threshold of neglect, which is apparently, very high. Not like foster care provides a better alternative for the kid in most cases anyways. It's too bad we can't choose our parents.
I date a litany of single moms and I can say many of them leave their young kids at home unattended all the time (unfortunately). Not like daddy's ever around either though, but the mother is culpable for choosing a bad partner. They would never get hit with child neglect unless the child was seriously injured or dead due to them not being home. The child protection services are called daily and can confiscate children due to poor parenting, but leaving them at home while the broads at work would not even qualify to meet their threshold of neglect, which is apparently, very high. Not like foster care provides a better alternative for the kid in most cases anyways. It's too bad we can't choose our parents.
No way! Who would have guessed? Lol
Wait. He said his parents divorced and he lives at home with his mom who has multiple personalities. Is she the litany of single moms?
What about from the kid’s perspective? Sitting by yourself in a tent for 10 (15?) hours with adults you don’t know and aren’t paying attention is not same thing as hanging out with your friends all day. What if his phone charge only lasted five hours?
The father put himself ahead of his son and deserves what he got. It might have be the tip of an iceberg so a home visit from the CPS would be in order.
Kids can play on a phone for days on end. I am sure he knew how to use a powerbank or find some power somewhere.
I can imagine that there was a different plan for the kid at one point but the adult help fell through last minute.
These Karens could have pampered that kid for 16 hours and made sure it's part of the big "Triathlon family" instead they called the cops and arrested the poor dad.
Maybe so, but once they knew - and could easily verify who bought the kid's pass - that should have been the end of it
I'm pretty sure that if the parent had told the VIP tent staff "this is my kid, I'm leaving him here until I finish in 16 hours, please keep an eye on him" he would have been told that the VIP tent is not a babysitting facility and no, you can't leave your kid here with us.
Having the guy arrested was clearly a huge overreaction--the kid was not in danger. However, the guy was surely guilty of being a terrible parent, and I think pulling him off the course was a reasonable response.
I know nothing abour Triathalons, but in Marathons VIP tents are something you pay extra money for so the participant can have a warmup tent before without a bathroom line (usually with coffee/light breakfast) ans a massage/lunch/beers after. It is not a babysitting service.
What about from the kid’s perspective? Sitting by yourself in a tent for 10 (15?) hours with adults you don’t know and aren’t paying attention is not same thing as hanging out with your friends all day. What if his phone charge only lasted five hours?
The father put himself ahead of his son and deserves what he got. It might have be the tip of an iceberg so a home visit from the CPS would be in order.
Kids can play on a phone for days on end. I am sure he knew how to use a powerbank or find some power somewhere.
I can imagine that there was a different plan for the kid at one point but the adult help fell through last minute.
These Karens could have pampered that kid for 16 hours and made sure it's part of the big "Triathlon family" instead they called the cops and arrested the poor dad.
This makes no sense. Race organizers rightly don’t want the liability or responsibility of taking care of a 9 year old kid in the VIP tent. Fobbing off child care on strangers is a selfish act. Perhaps it was an overreaction to contact child services, but if the parent asked me as to the consequences before the race, I would have indicated it was a distinct possibility.
This board has gone soft. Four pages of comments and no one asked about his time.
He was 1:47:29 for the swim, 8:16:09 after the bike, then no more info. Must have gotten yanked by the cops at the bike-to-run transition because of the kid.
I'm pretty sure that if the parent had told the VIP tent staff "this is my kid, I'm leaving him here until I finish in 16 hours, please keep an eye on him" he would have been told that the VIP tent is not a babysitting facility and no, you can't leave your kid here with us.
Having the guy arrested was clearly a huge overreaction--the kid was not in danger. However, the guy was surely guilty of being a terrible parent, and I think pulling him off the course was a reasonable response.
I know nothing abour Triathalons, but in Marathons VIP tents are something you pay extra money for so the participant can have a warmup tent before without a bathroom line (usually with coffee/light breakfast) ans a massage/lunch/beers after. It is not a babysitting service.
The point the people my age have been saying in this thread, who were free-range kids along with all the other kids around us at time, is that this kid didn't need a babysitting service. The father didn't ask for a babysitting service and didn't need a babysitting service. The kid knew the important part about where to be to meet the father after the race, and knew it was going to be a really long time. It doesn't sound like he was anxious or anything. . . sound like a kid allowed to free range. Us free-range kids knew how to take care of ourselves and entertain ourselves and stay out of trouble. That ability to take care of ourselves on our own for a day came from being given that freedom. This was decades before smartphones were invented invented, so that isn't even necessary (though helpful) for a kid to stay occupied in his mind.
It's been fun, but there is just too much negative energy here and too many new as$holes who post bullsh*t and lots of great people who used to post all the time who have left or gone underground. I'm out. Life is too short. I'll be in kona. Hope to see some of you there. Paulo knows how to find me
Agreed. All Karens should be arrested and held without bail. From the time I was 5 I was untethered and free to play wherever I wanted. By the time I was 9 that meant all day with my friends frequently biking 2-3 miles away, only returning when the streetlights cam on. Dinner, then back out until 10pm.
This whole thing is ridiculous especially from the caterwauling Karens.
It's one thing to play all day with your friends around your neighborhood (in the 1960s), where you and your friends likely knew many neighbors, other friends, etc., able to go home whenever you wanted.
But did your father ever take you to a strange town where you knew no one, and leave you alone and unsupervised in a tent for 16 hours?
These things don't seem all that comparable.
I remember as a kid one time, talking to the neighbor kids, who were bragging about how far they could go away from the house on their bikes unsupervised. My thoughts then (for that and other reasons) were about whether their mother cared about them.
Agreed. All Karens should be arrested and held without bail. From the time I was 5 I was untethered and free to play wherever I wanted. By the time I was 9 that meant all day with my friends frequently biking 2-3 miles away, only returning when the streetlights cam on. Dinner, then back out until 10pm.
This whole thing is ridiculous especially from the caterwauling Karens.
It's one thing to play all day with your friends around your neighborhood (in the 1960s), where you and your friends likely knew many neighbors, other friends, etc., able to go home whenever you wanted.
But did your father ever take you to a strange town where you knew no one, and leave you alone and unsupervised in a tent for 16 hours?
These things don't seem all that comparable.
I remember as a kid one time, talking to the neighbor kids, who were bragging about how far they could go away from the house on their bikes unsupervised. My thoughts then (for that and other reasons) were about whether their mother cared about them.
Maybe the kid was accustomed to being left alone and unsupervised. Kids are very adaptable. When I was that age (early 1960s) I was taking public transportation alone to places 10 miles or so away in a fairly large city. I would have been perfectly fine with a book in that kid's situation. He knew where he was and where his father was and was not acting distressed according to the report.
This sounds more like adults projecting their own issues and insecurities into the situation. And they could have pulled the guy off the course without calling the police. That was completely over the top.
Don't believe everything you are told. Democrats do not support killing unborn babies one week before the due date.
However, Republicans only seem concerned with babies before they are born. Thereafter it is everyone for themselves, and survival of the richest, and even want to take the school lunches out of the kids' mouths.
Maybe the kid was accustomed to being left alone and unsupervised. Kids are very adaptable. When I was that age (early 1960s) I was taking public transportation alone to places 10 miles or so away in a fairly large city. I would have been perfectly fine with a book in that kid's situation. He knew where he was and where his father was and was not acting distressed according to the report.
This sounds more like adults projecting their own issues and insecurities into the situation. And they could have pulled the guy off the course without calling the police. That was completely over the top.
I'm genuinely surprised at where so many people are drawing the line, and that calling the police is the worst thing here, and that leaving a 9-year old alone in a strange place, for an estimated 16 hours, doesn't carry any high risks. I would think that even leaving them at home alone -- for 16 hours -- seems like it crosses a line of child neglect/endangerment.
Maybe the kid was accustomed to being left alone and unsupervised. Kids are very adaptable. When I was that age (early 1960s) I was taking public transportation alone to places 10 miles or so away in a fairly large city. I would have been perfectly fine with a book in that kid's situation. He knew where he was and where his father was and was not acting distressed according to the report.
This sounds more like adults projecting their own issues and insecurities into the situation. And they could have pulled the guy off the course without calling the police. That was completely over the top.
I'm genuinely surprised at where so many people are drawing the line, and that calling the police is the worst thing here, and that leaving a 9-year old alone in a strange place, for an estimated 16 hours, doesn't carry any high risks. I would think that even leaving them at home alone -- for 16 hours -- seems like it crosses a line of child neglect/endangerment.
Can you list the "high risks" of spending the day in a VP tent with adults present?
I'm genuinely surprised at where so many people are drawing the line, and that calling the police is the worst thing here, and that leaving a 9-year old alone in a strange place, for an estimated 16 hours, doesn't carry any high risks. I would think that even leaving them at home alone -- for 16 hours -- seems like it crosses a line of child neglect/endangerment.
Can you list the "high risks" of spending the day in a VP tent with adults present?