Comments on: I have a fourth grade me

By: VA Bluebelle

VA Bluebelle — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:52:03 +0000

All good parents are a little bit snoop-y. Trust me, you’ll get better at it as he ages.

By: Jason Dufair

Jason Dufair — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:58:23 +0000

I don’t see going thru Alyssa’s backpack as snooping. We go thru it together and look over stuff that’s specifically supposed to be for me. Yeah, she should probably be responsible enough to get me my papers every day, but she’s only 9, so I help.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:07:02 +0000

Boys backpacks don’t have anything personal in them. Crumbs, papers, wrappers, rocks, chewed gum and sticks are not secret. It’s okay to do a daily backpack check. At least until high school they are just too scatter-brained to trust their organization.

By: sumgirl

sumgirl — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:40:42 +0000

{psh} none of my kids’ stuff is sacred from my rummaging now (young as they are) or later (i’ll just try to hide it better). i get the notes and still never get the money in on time - at least you can blame the kid.

By: carolyn

carolyn — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:42:12 +0000

My 14 y/o daughter and I go through her bookbag TOGETHER to find things I am supposed to have, sign, acknowledge, etc. My 11 y/o son just gives me the stuff, on time, and then reminds me when something needs to be returned to school. I guess it’s not a boy/girl thin. Maybe it’s the oldest child??

By: jenwright

jenwright — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:42:27 +0000

If you want to know my opinion, I think you’re a sorry-ass dad for not snooping through your boys bag. I think that’s a God-given right of all parents, and you might as well enjoy while you’re young. That’ll be a chapter in my memoirs. I’ll let you know when it’s published.

But seriously, that sounds like an awesome field trip! How come you don’t ever tell your family about cool stuff like that? I think that ties back into the sorry-ass dad thing.

By: sumgirl

sumgirl — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:56:04 +0000

{ooo, i like jenwright!}

By: Netmom

Netmom — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 20:27:43 +0000

Going through the backpack IS your God-given right as THE DAD. It’s also really necessary if you’re ever going to get the information you wish he’d just tell you.

Some kids will nag you the minute something comes home (Delta); others won’t give it to you until it’s almost too late (Gamma).

By: timsan1

timsan1 — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 03:03:53 +0000

I had a friend in school in 3rd grade who’s mom pinned notes to his shirt till the third grade. If they are your kid you don’t need a search warrant. I think when they become teenagers it changes a little bit though. Then they have this notion of “what yours is mine and whats mine is mine”. Silly teenagers . . . Sounds like a cool trip. Thank God for AAA -

By: Jamie

Jamie — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 09:22:56 +0000

Wait until he tells you that you are a chaperone on a trip such as this, and you are supposed to supply the dessert for the sack lunch that will be eaten on the bus. The problem with this? He will tell you at bedtime, the night before departure. Been there, done that. Good luck.

By: Punk HP

Punk HP — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:05:18 +0000

I think if you watch the South Park episode “Dog, The Hall Monitor” everything will become more clear.

By: GBscientist

GBscientist — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:07:30 +0000

Bust the boy’s ass. All notes should be presented to the parental unit within 48 hours of acquisition by the offspring unit. Otherwise, large-scale field trips, and other such things, will be missed-out upon.

Be demanding. Be invasive. Kids need attention.

By: GBscientist

GBscientist — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:11:20 +0000

PS: I was a safety patrol in elementary school. There has never been a more picky, rule-bound, anal-retentive safety patrol than I. No one on the bus was above my scrutiny, including high school students and the other patrollers. My bus driver commented to the newspaper that I would march as I left the bus.

I hope MastaG is a bit more mellow.

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:27:40 +0000

I always wanted to be Safety Patrol. Oh how I coveted the reflective orange belt that also went across diagonally. I longed for the shiny silver badge!!

Alas, it never came to pass.
sigh…..

PS> Parents HAVE to snoop. Otherwise we will never know what’s going on.

By: LeeAnn

LeeAnn — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 18:27:28 +0000

It’s not that moms and dads have eyes, in the back of their heads, it’s because we are so good at snooping. Until they move out of the house you better get go at the snooping thing or you’ll be the last to know anything!