My soon to be 11 year old decided to go for a wander this morning instead of going to school (for context the school is 4 minutes from our house and he’s walked to and from on his own since Christmas without issue) - took himself to the local shop to buy sweets and crisps, took himself about a mile in the other direction to buy a hot chocolate and then wandered back to school expecting to just ‘turn up late’. It’s incredibly out of character, he seems in good spirits and is a bright boy and usually a very good student.
Of course by this point (approx 10:30am) the school had called me, and they were searching the local area, and the police were called (as there was an incident last week with someone attempting to drag a child into a strange car).
My nerves are shot to pieces and it was the most scared I’ve ever been, my son seems incredibly sorry and didn’t realise ‘there’d be such a fuss’ but I feel at my wits end how to parent this. He’s insisting everything is fine at school, he’s happy at home, and that it’s just ‘something he wanted to do’.
Any advice would be appreciated, as this is genuinely something I never thought I would have to think about!