So, I'm standing in my yard talking to my landlord who stopped by to drop off the lawnmower and Stephen comes out and sits on the porch swing. We were talking about getting a fence with the grant we are supposed to be getting so I don't have to watch Stephen like a hawk when he is outside. I tell him that Stephen is sneaky and will wait until I am talking with someone or not looking and try to leave the yard.
We move to another area of the yard and keep talking. About 5 minutes later I casually look over at the swing and it is empty! I scan the yard quickly with my eyes and run inside to see if Stephen went back inside. I run out to the side walk and yell his name and I look over at my neighbors house and there he is trying to get in the front door. Stephen looks over at me and starts walking towards me. I brought him inside and locked the screen door and kept the front door of the house open that goes to the porch and go out the back door which has a child safety knob on it.
As my heart starts beating again, I go to my duplex neighbor's yard where my husband is mowing the lawn (yes, he is such a nice guy) and tell him I'm waiting for him to tell me "I told you so". Which he doesn't. Yes, he is a really nice guy ; ) Whenever he has been home and I am out in the yard with the kids, he constantly pops out to make sure that Stephen hasn't run off and tells me I am too trusting with Stephen. I guess he was right.
We just need a fence. I know I am not the only one who has a child that is a flight risk and would love to hear some stories.
3 comments:
Well, my situation is a bit different... I had 3 flight risks, all at the same time. I just did NOT go out of the house unless I had at least one more adult with me (preferably 3 adults total) and we were fully concentrating on the children. Period. Otherwise, we stayed in the house with everything locked up.
I never did anything outdoors (yard work, etc) unless they were at school or someone was watching them inside.
My son constantly tries to run when we're playing out front with all the neighborhood kids. I think I figured out that it's all the noise of the vehicles they're playing with... but I'm not sure.
All I know is that he stays right at the outskirts of what I've made clear is the "boundary." But he'll stand there... watching us... and from time to time will break and just run. He thinks it's funny as we chase him down the street. It sucks... time outs do work with him. But when we're out front... we pretty much have to be prepared that he'll run. It's not a relaxing time.
That's why I'm in love with our backyard. I just have to make it more fun for my little girl... cause all she wants to do is go play with the kids out front. It sure is hard to find a balance!
I was just going to post on something similar. I understand where you're coming from!
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