<p>Okay, I tattled today, I was at my Ds HS, and I saw at least 10 kids sneak off campus and get into a car to go to lunch - its summer school and a closed campus</p>
<p>I tattled because it was </p>
<p>10 kids in one car with a teen driver
they snuck out
and I would want to know if my kid was not where I expected her to be and she was in a car with 10 other kids and a 16 year old driver</p>
<p>so there, confession time</p>
<p>Good for you. In our area a couple years ago, some kids snuck away from some kind of summer band camp to go out to lunch (against policy). They piled up in a car with an inexperienced driver, were involved in a serious wreck and several of the students were killed. In our state now I believe the law is no more than one passenger in car (unless family) if driver is 16.</p>
<p>I will admit it - I tattled on a babysitter last summer. I watched her as she left one child (almost 3 year old) in the pool while she went to the bathroom with the 6 year old. </p>
<p>I introduced myself and told her I had kept an eye on the little one while she was in the bathroom. She did tell me thank you and then said that she had been babysitting these kids all summer and she knew that the little one was fine because she told her to stay near the steps. </p>
<p>I called the mom that night so that she was aware. The only reason I called was because if it were my child I would want to know so that I could be more specific with the babysitter about pool rules. I told the mom how great the babysitter was otherwise.</p>
<p>I am friends with the mom now - and she did appreciate it but I still get glares from the babysitter.</p>
<p>Snuck is not a word and is grammatically incorrect. Sneaked would be better!</p>
<p>“Snuck” is listed in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as the past and past participle of “sneak.” (I’m an editor. I cannot resist getting involved in arguments of this sort. Sorry.)</p>
<p>I tattled on my own kid; how low is that?</p>
<p>When S1 was 16, he arrived home for dinner reeking of cheap vodka and unable to recite the alphabet. I knew he had been at a friend’s house where the mom worked full time, but allowed her son to have after-school guests. I called her, and suggested that my son be cut from the approved guest list. </p>
<p>After that, there was no approved guest list. The mom and I are still very good friends, and the boys are still …er, challenges.</p>
<p>Oh I’m so glad snuck is a word!</p>
<p>I move to the forefront and speak up when I see someone doing something wrong. There is a right and wrong way to handle this. For example, if kids are playing golf in the park right across from my house I walk right out to them and shake everyone’s hand and explain how it IS illegal to play golf in the parks of our township and WHY.I point out the fact that their control on swing really isn’t that good and there are little kids playing right over there in the play area 50 ft away and point to the children.I also lecture out how dangerous a golf ball can be.</p>
<p>What I would have done is walk right up to the car, shake everyone’s hand and say, in a whisper, " you don’t want to do this today." That there is going to a surprise crackdown on off campus trips by students involving suspensions. “Serious stuff is going down today- don’t leave.” Then I would call or visit the principal’s office- visit is best, sit there and wait for him to speak with you, and tell Mr or Dr So and So, “You have a serious problem.” Rather give names and descriptions simply alert him to the fact that there is a serious problem and I know Mrs La Di Dah (ficticious parent) is reporting this to the local police department. And does Mr or Dr So and So think that was the appropriate thing for Mrs La Di Dah to do? You never know, maybe there is as teacher supposed to be out there watching the lot who went to catch a snack. Now the principal knows he better get someone out there.</p>
<h1>1 When you want to confront good kids doing something maybe wrong to get attention never yell unless it’s serious. (like serious vandalism- in that case they know it and deserve it)</h1>
<h1>2 Lecture to them. They know better, they need to hear it again from you.</h1>
<h1>3 Make friends. Don’t be that mean lady . Learn their names if they are neighborhood kids or whatever, say Hi when you see them and engage in chit chat with them.</h1>
<h1>4. Make eye contact.</h1>
<h1>5 Ask their help. Hey do any of you know anything about cars? I have this rattling in the front, back, wheel, etc. What do YOU think it is? Are YOU good at grass cutting, shoveling snow, etc… Get them to do something free for you . It makes them feel good too.</h1>
<h1>6. Realize we all make mistakes. By being low key you can keep a kid from being harshly punished by maybe a forceful or upset parent.Key it down.</h1>
<p>Hey, they are growing up fast. This kid you yell at or snitch on today may be your neighbor tomorrow.Always be diplomatic and everyone will respect you.</p>
<p>Great post, backhandgrip! Pearls of wisdom and experience beautifully expressed. Just…great.</p>
<p>Yuck…cheap vodka. I do not approve.</p>
<p>This is depressing. I found backhandgrip’s suggestion at least creative and not quite so presumptuous. I can’t believe there are parents who actually do things like tattle, it’s pathetic. It’s one thing to tattle on your own child, that’s completely your perogative and I support that, however, tattling on other children is pathetic, get a life. You can pretend it’s concern for safety as much as you like, but it reeks of moral grandstanding.</p>
<p>For myself, I stick to the rules I always gave the kids: “it’s not tattling if it’s a health or safety issue.” I notice all of the examples above fall into one or the other or both categories. </p>
<p>When my kids were trying new things, I’d often finish up by saying “call me if you need a grownup.” (These days I say “call me if you need another grownup.”) I still remember my daughter calling from two doors down where she was helping a friend babysit a sibling (I think): “we need a grownup and a first aid kit, and no, it’s not a call-911 crisis.” (She was right, it was a nasty knee scrape.)</p>
<p>It’s not tattling if you need a grownup to help.</p>
<p>Well, it’s worked for me and hey, I have to live here.
Of course there ARE criminals out there too.And crazies too.</p>
<p>All I can say is pounding ones fist and demanding won’t work. YOu are putting everyone on the spot.Diplomacy (sp) works.</p>
<p>“it’s not tattling if you need a grownup to help” i completely agree; that wasn’t the type of tattling i was referring to.</p>
<p>Pathetic? Gosh, pretty strong word for parents watching out for other people kids…if my D had been one of those kids, you can betcha I would be mad</p>
<p>That many kids in one car is stupid, dangerous, and in California against the law. The staff person was there after lunch waiting when the kids got back…and the driver was warned that he was breaking the law</p>
<p>If they did it again, and there was an accident, imagine the mess- kids sneaking out, school libel</p>
<p>Moral grandstanding…wow…nice try</p>
<p>There is no moral grandstanding whatsoever in attempting to keep kids, who usually think they are invincible, safe. I applaud CGM; I would have done the very same thing, and not felt the slightest bit guilty about it either.</p>
<p>Yes, pathetic. Ditto on the moral grandstanding. I didn’t know we were supposed to be a nation of vigilantes, watching out for other people’s children. I thank God every day and night my parents aren’t like you.</p>
<p>Chillin,
You may feel very differently when you are a parent and you realize how quickly young lives can be ruined or ended. All of the above posters actions were done with the idea of keeping someone’s child safe and I would hope others would do the same for ours.</p>
<p>Nope, I’m pretty sure I’ll feel the same as my parents and the parents of my friends. My point is, go ahead and keep your own kids safe, but let other parents do their own childrearing.</p>
<p>To Marian:</p>
<pre><code> According to this website( well, just oxford, of course), snuck is grammatically incorrect and is not the past tense of sneak. It is just slang, and should not be used. Guess you are wrong!
</code></pre>
<p>It is shame that an editor uses incorrect, informal slang.
As a grammarian, I can’t help but to get involved in arguments such as these! :)</p>
<p><a href=“Oxford Languages | The Home of Language Data”>www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/snuck?view=uk</a></p>
<p>Snuck is American English…Just like dialog/dialogue…color/colour…analyze/analyse</p>