On Friday afternoon I thought I'd done the right thing, but now am not so sure.
I was picking my dc's up from school as normal when another child came up to me, (I know her mum although we don't see each other that much).
Her mum never picks her up from the school gates, (she's 10 by the way), but waits round the corner in the car a few roads away, + her dd walks round to meet her. Her dd seemed worried, asking if I'd seen her mum as she wasn't sure where she was being picked up from. She said she'd been over to where she normally waits + she wasn't there.
I waited 5 mins, then we all wandered down the road a bit to see if we could see her car, which we couldn't. Her dd told me where she normally waits + said we'd see her car from where we were. I tried calling her mobile + home numbers but could get no reply,
- hung around for a good 10 mins. or so. Was just thinking about going back to the school, (2 mins. walk away), when suddenly my friend pulled up in the car, furious with her dd. She'd been into the school, couldn't find her + panicked. She thanked me, + kept saying how glad she was to see her with me + they drove off. She said she'd been waiting where she waits every day, (not so sure)!
Saw my friend briefly the next day + she said her daughter's attention seeking at the moment, trying to get everybody involved in her arrangements, (seems strange to me)!
It was only over the weekend, I realised that from her point of view I'd actually taken her child off the school premises + nobody knew. Didn't think to leave a message with the office as I was sure I'd see her mum's car any minute, (she's never at the school anyway).
Did what I thought was right at the time, (was actually hanging around for nearly half an hour making sure this little girl didn't wait on her own), but wondered about other people's viewpoints, was I right or wrong?