I'm not sure I agree with that. If there's a safety issue with kids, I would suggest picking them up and reporting it. Document all of it... and try to remove them from his or her custody. However, I'm not willing to recommend making the other parent believe something terrible could have happened to their child to teach them a lesson.

It may not teach them a lesson but I know it'll make them think

You're not being mean at all. Nowadays, things are just too unsafe. My nine year old wants to know when he can ride his bike to school. My answer: NEVER!

But mom all my friends are doing it.lol lol stick to your guns never is never

Gee I'm glad you're not my mom. Least my mom let me ride to school. Oh wait the school was only a block away.

You really wouldn't have wanted me. look back at some of my post

oh no diffinetly not

Please, please, PLEASE tell me this idea is just venting and postering and you are not serious.

No offense but taking your child and letting your Ex think they have been kidnapped is about the WORST possible idea I have heard in a LONG time.
I get the theory but the realities are WAY different.

First it quite possibly a CRIME; Especially if police or state FBI are alerted to find your child. A paniced parent is going to call 911. Especially if she goes to pick them up from a school or mall that is going to want to lock down and react immediately.

You can bet that once they figure out what you have done you will be barred permanently. If the facility incurs expenses looking for your children they could sue you for it.

Depending where you picked your child up from you could be video taped and when the police comes after you for kidnapping and your kid gets to go through the trauma of seeing you arrested and handcuffed.

If their Mother falls apart emotionally and is hospitalized your kids could end up in foster care while you are in jail.

I don't how grandparent's would react to the news their Grandkids were
"kidnapped" but you can bet it would stress them out big time and they are going to hate you a good long time for it.

Second it could be custodial interference and judges don't play when that happens. You could have your custody severly limited and or set aside. You will most assuredly be court ordered into anger management classes, supervised visitation, and parenting classes at YOUR EXPEN$E. If your Ex has any kind of stress related complications related to this little "lesson" you could be paying for her medical bills and counseling too. If it affects her ability to work you could be civilly sued and actually end up supporting her.

I don't know how your state interprets it's stalking laws but I could see how your Ex could at least attempt to make a case you are harrassing her.

How you would justify useing your children's conpliance to your instructions against them to hurt their mother sounds abusive to them. It is not their job to teach a parent how to parent; you or her. It is a loose loose situation for them. They are probably not going to get the "percieved threat" you do but they will resent you when they are in trouble for not being where they were suppose to be for the very least.

It is ALWAYS a BAD idea when one parent attempts to Teach the other parent how to "Parent" but in the case of Ex's you are asking to start a war with your kids being the first casualties.

I hope so too and if you do do something like that let the police know of your intentions they probably have other ideas to help you

Being in the miserable situation of worrying about your child's saftey when you divorce or have to let your child live away from home is extreamly hard.

While I don't think you can "street Proof" a kid I do think there are some great programs that let your child learn some basic self defense tactics.

Scouting comes to mind first. Their programs tend to be age approriate and by being an interested parent you can direct them toward the badge work that meets their needs.

Most YWCA or YMCA's have programs also. Yes these programs have dues but they also have sliding scale memberships so that you and your children can overcome the expense.

Many Parks and recreation programs also have "Safe Kid" Programs.

Salvation Army has programs and can referr to good services.

Red Cross teaches first aid and saftey to people of all ages.

Your states Child Protective Services has a host of services to include license day care homes where you can insist that your child be supervised if the custodial parent is not doing it.

Searching out and interviewing qualified day care options (not to mention directly paying for it) is and excellent way for non-custodial parents to meet their child's need for supervision. Maybe before jumping on the custodial parent for their failures you need to spend the time to have real solutions that work in their life.

Last but not least you could offer to spend additional time with your child. Yes it may mean sacrificing all but necessities in your personal life and cutting back work and recreation hours but you are a parent 24/7/365 and if the job the custodial parent is doing really isn't cutting it then you are failing yourself because you have let your kid fall through the saftey net that you are suppose to be provideing. I don't think I have ever seen a judge deny a parent time with their child if in fact the time they are spending with the child is enriching their life emotionally, academically, morally, physically, or socially. No they are not going to let you dictate your Ex spouses life but if you are ready, willing, and able to meet your child's needs better than the parent YOU PICKED to have a child with then you would have custody or more custody and this worry would go away. The truth is you have made something else a priority and are useing it as an excuse. Sounds harsh but would you give up your car and ride the bus to pay day care for your child?
Would you live in subsidized or an older neighborhood so your child could go to and after school/summer program? Would you convert your garage and hire a live in nanny so that while you are at work there is a qualified person to meet your child's needs? Would you live with someone you probably don't like all that much just so you have a room-mate so you could buy your kid's scouting expenses? These are choices custodial parents make every day if they even have those choices. I love the guy who brags about paying a thousand dollars a month for his kid; that doesn't even put the child, hopefully it is one child, above the national poverty guidelines.

Yes it was. I was venting sorry

You're forgiven by me Just don't let it happen again.

Ota I won't

Ok 1up for mean moms. Ladies, more power to us. I let my son and nepfew go to the park yesterday. Which I said before is across the street. Anywho I was sitting on the porch watching them and other kids playing. A strange car pulled up and parked the wrong way on the street. Just down a lil ways from the park. Of course that made me watch him/her closer. The longer I sit there the closer to the park they moved. After the car got so close to the kids in the park I called the police. I AM so glad I called. After the man lead the police on a high speed chase, he admitted he was looking to kidnap a child. The officer across the street from me came over and told me about the man admitting to wanting to kidnap a child.

Now that's just to scary

Holy cow... thank God there was someone like paying attention. This is exactly why I wear the "Mean Mom" badge PROUDLY

Scary is right. Now there is ALWAYS an adult in the park if there's kids there. Most of the time there's more than one but there is at least one. Mean mom heck yeah I'm a mean mom. I'm a mom who still has her kids and is not plastered on the local news pleading to have her son back.

True cause these days most people look at the parents as suspects first. I wonder why Casey Anthony?

It is sad but so often parents are the ones that bring child abusers into their child's life. Often it is someone they know is a looser but they want the drugs or alcohol or support money more than they care about their kids. Some excuse it because they figure it is better than being homeless, beaten, or looseing their kids to the system they may have known, or starving themselves.

Unfortuneately if you do not have a dependent child in this country you can not get enough assistance to live at even a survival level if you are not evaluated to meet the definition of disabled.

If you do not believe this look at the number of people who are turned away from shelters every night.

go with her?