I brought my girls to the city pier today, a concrete structure with a roof and large viewing platform that stretches out over the lake. Some guys were fishing there without any luck and others came and went. There's a public beach and a marked swimming area a hundred yards away, but by city ordinance there is no swimming outside the marked area and no diving off the pier. It's clearly marked with a big sign.
Soon a group of pre-teens (and younger) kids came up to the pier and prepared to dive off. The water is pitch black here, murky, and filled with deep holes. A kid drowned in this exact same spot not two years back. Again, there's a big sign warning not to do this. Again, there were no parents around. I told the kids that they weren't allowed to dive off, that it was dangerous, that there was a SIGN, and that a kid died there a few years back. They shrugged and ran back to the beach.
A few minutes later, they kids come back, more of them, with an adult in tow. The climb right over the barrier with their grandma egging them on "Go. Jump!". Very politely, I inform the lady that they aren't supposed to dive out her, nor swim, and that there was a SIGN, and that a kid died right there not long back. She shrugged, "I know, don't care. Go. Jump!" she continued. One of the girls she was egging into the water was smaller than my 8 year old.
I asked her if she'll care when I call the police and she said "We'll see when the cops get here." Well, she called my bluff so I called the cops. The kids dived off and swam slowly back to shore, laughing, and grandma walked back down the pier. The dispatcher took my name and number and said an officer would arrive shortly.
Before any officer came, the mother took the long walk down the pier. "Did you call the cops on my kids?!" she asked.
"No, ma'am, I called the cops on the adult that was with your children."
Well, she got mad and went off on me. To her credit, she didn't curse, but she game me a long list of why it wasn't dangerous for her daughters to dive off the pier into dark and murky water, 300' from shore, with no lifeguards, and despite the SIGN and the fact that a kid died there not two years back. I didn't insult her. I stayed classy. My kids were right there watching. She was mostly mad that anyone would hassle her kids that way, to which my repeated response was "Public safety, ma'am".
I stayed at the pier with my kids and watched the cops show up on the distant shore. I watched the mother in her black shirt walk right up to the cops, have a discussion, and point my direction out on the pier. She walked off and the cops approached. They were nice, and professional, and took my statement. They advised that, in the future, I not directly talk to any kids and to just go ahead and call the police if I ever saw it again. They explained the mom was upset that I talked to her kids. I explained that I only spoke to the kids when there were no adults present, and to warn them of the danger, of the giant SIGN, and the fact that a kid died right there not two years back. They agreed that it was ridiculous, but to avoid drama with parents, it was just best to call the cops directly, BUT they said that I was right to be concerned and to alert authorities - after all, there's a big sign and some kid drowned, you know.
We left a few minutes later, and passed the mom giving holy-hell to those cops for hassling her kids. I heard her get loud and an officer say "MA'AM, what's your name? Do you have ID?" to which she loudly replied "No, I DON'T HAVE ID!". We just kept walking, eyes glued to the ground, and made it home safely without further incident.
Later, I got to thinking. Was I right to call the police? I mean, I warned the kids first, and then I warned the grandma, and they not only didn't listen, but laughed in the face of danger, city ordinance, and my concern. Still, was I participating in the Nanny State? Should parents be allowed to endanger their children? I think I did the right thing, still, but I'm not positive.
) is a possibility, yeah, call them. Also, it starts a paper trail on concerns raised and, as above, protection for Novem5er and his own kids in case there was an accident.