Son, Ah say Son...Do you mean to tell me...

[moosetracker]

With my son around 13 yo - The troop went to Martha's vineyard. There is a place for boy scouts to camp there, They rented bikes and biked to the far side where they camped. Well son bikes but not fast, so they figured that it was a straigh shot to the campsite, and he was left to get there by himself.. (OK not the scout way..)

 

Anyway he get's himself lost.. Stops at a nice old ladies house who (I think fed him milk & cookies) but I am sure got the police to help him locate the troop. The policeman puts my sons bike in the trunk of the car and everyone at camp first notices the spotlights that my son was playing with while they drive up to the campsite.

 

I don't know where the SM was, but not at camp but he got word though walkie talkie that my son (garbled message) police (garbled message.) He is shocked it is my son that got in trouble with the local law enforcement, but comes booking it all worried.. SM was a state trooper..

 

Anyway at the next COH, the SM had made him a "get out of jail free card".. And razzed him. It was again a source of laughter when he got roasted at his ECOH..

[AwHeck]

While he's certainly not in 2nd grade yet, my grandson who will be turning 5 in 2 weeks probably has no clue as to his address or 'phone number'. His mom and 'Daddy Tom' are moving this weekend, they've only been in the current place a little over a year. Before that, he spent most of his life in our house but also 6 months or so in a different apartment. If pressed, he might know his full name, he does know that his mommy is also called Erin and on occasion will tell us daddy Tom's full name (at times we think he believes the full family has daddy tom's middle and last name) Daddy Tom is actually mom's boyfriend but not bio dad. They don't have a home phone number, both have cell phones which is more and more common these days. I honestly couldn't even tell you their phone number without looking it up. Since they're moving 4 hours away, that will likely change anyway with new area code etc.

 

Long story short, there can be many reasons for kids to not know their current address and phone numbers. I *do* expect him to learn it by first grade but you just never know.

[ScoutLass]

I actually find it kind of shocking. I thought it was required knowledge from kindergarten on up. We had to learn and recite the info each year beginning in kindergarten. They still require it in the schools here.

 

It's not just important if the child gets lost. My husband has seizures as a result of migraines. Usually his migraine medication handles the issue before he has one. They are very rare, in fact he has only had one as an adult. unfortunately, he had this one when my oldest son was only 4 years old and when I was not home. My son called 911, from a cell phone (our only phone at the time), and gave the operator our address, the phone number, his name, and my husband's name. Though chances are slim my husband would have died from this seizure, it would have been much more traumatic for my son to deal with if he hadn't known what to do.

 

Kids don't need the info just to save themselves, but for the sake of their whole families. It may just be me and my experiences, but I find it kind of irresponsible not to teach this information to children as soon as they are able to remember it. At the very least, it should be hung in the home in a prominent area and children instructed what the info is and what it is for.

[AnnLaurelB]

ScoutLass -- Exactly.

 

AwHeck -- Almost-5 *might* be a little young, I admit, especially with changes. But I started sing-songing my kids' names and our home phone (traceable through the police department, if they new NOTHING else) from the time they were about 2.

 

At about 3, I started the address. First, just the street name. Later, the number.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if a kid *started* Kindergarten not knowing, but for sure by the end of that school year. They're learning to DECODE in Kindergarten now; they can certainly memorize facts. But I'll grant you age 5 being a good time to learn this.

 

I was so stunned because my Wolfies are all turning 8 soon. I consider that AT LEAST 3 years late.