"Don't be too passionate" Ron pleaded as I headed off to the computer room.
When I arrived, I turned on my computer only to realize I had a "mysterious" internet failure.
"Heather" I could hear God saying "You're too upset." So, I took a nap. When I got up I promised God I would tame the vehemence if He would help get my internet working again.
You're reading this, He agreed.
I can understand the parent's point of view. Money is tight all over, and what's cuter and more endearing than a small child walking up to a stranger, asking them for money? Only a jerk would keep his wallet in his pocket and walk away.
However, I have encountered small children begging for money - and I'm in a solid middle class area - three times in this week alone. In all cases, it was obvious the children were not from needy families.
In all 3 cases, it was referred to as "fundraising" - a small child walking up to a complete stranger, shoving a bucket at them, and pleading for "donations". In the first instance, the mother and child were working a strip mall.
We had gone to Dollar Tree. Ron was sitting in a folding chair clearly blind and other-ly disabled. When I came back from running and errand, I found the mother had positioned the child right in front of Ron, facing outward, as if he were her father. She shoved her bucket at passers-by, begging for donations. They'd look at Ron and donate.
The mother was using her own child, and my husband, who would rather die than beg. I was not happy. Mom took one look at me, looking at them, and yanked her kid away. The mother was black, with hair products, long waves reaching past her shoulders. The hair was not cheap - hundreds of dollars. When security ran them off (not at my prompting, I think the owner of the beauty supply store called security), they got into a very nice, late-model, Nissan. They were well, and cleanly, dressed. The daughter was clean and wore cute, new, little shoes. For whatever reason, they stayed in the car, watching us (I think they believed Ron and I were running some kind of begging scam as well), until Metrolift arrived. Then the mother had an Aha moment, I could see it, and drove off.
I wasn't sure what the mother thought she was teaching her daughter, but the daughter had learned the lesson: It is OK to approach strangers at close range and ask for money. That's a terrible lesson to teach your child!
Haven't they heard of perverts? Don't parents know that guys like that have exciting fantasies where a little child approaches them, out of parental range, for just a moment? All the kids I have seen lately have been running up to 20-100 feet away from adult supervision, plenty of range for a bad guy to snatch them.
I found some good tips for parents:
Talking to strangers
More tips
Now, you'll note that at least one website talked about appropriate distance - that was another feature. These kids (the one at the strip mall, and the other two I will mention) were crowded very tightly against the strange adults, thrusting the bucket at them, impeding their passage.
For one, that's just rude. It's also a safety issue for the children.
The second incident occured at Walmart. The children had clustered around one of the exits. They were jumping in front of exiting customers, shoving the bucket. Some of them were very small (less than 5). They were "fundraising" for a cheerleading squad.
The parents were out of sight, around the corner, under a folding awning, sitting in chairs, listening to music and gossiping. An adult could have easily grabbed a child and gotten 100 yards away before the parents even realized something was wrong. I found that pretty distressing, and asked Ron:
"Why aren't the adults begging, if it's so important?"
When I was a kid we had actual fundraisers, we sold things. I know some groups do understand public safety for children even in a fundraising setting: the Girl Scouts always sit behind or directly next to a table, with adults right in their midst, watching carefully.
That's the way to do it, and not because I'm a former Girl Scout!
I still remember my trip to the water treatment plant. I found it fascinating.
Lastly, on the way home, a bunch of manic, orange-clad teens and young children, handing out bottles of water to drivers in exchange for "donations". One small child was on a median, by himself, away from all adult and teen supervision. A driver could have shoved him in the car and gotten a mile away before anyone noticed.
I don't have children. Sometimes, I don't like children; but children are a treasure from God.
Would you leave your purse, unattended, by a door, while you sat around the corner gossiping, at Walmart? No. Would you leave a briefcase full of money on a median by itself for minutes, unattended? No.
So why do people do it with their children?
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