That’s the party line response from the agitated mom of the young girl who accidentally reversed into my son’s car in the school parking lot. She was neither polite nor remorseful. She had tried to get my son to sign a statement in her favor.
He, surprisingly, chose to wait for me.
“Your son was speeding in the parking lot.” Sorry lady! You cannot categorize a stationary car — as in not moving — as ‘speeding.’ Besides, she arrived on the scene about 30 minutes after the fender bender.
I politely asked for compensation for damage repairs. She looked at me as if I had asked for her liver!
“Its a no fault state, and we are not responsible.” And then she walked away.
The good news? Nobody got hurt and the damages were a manageable two hundred dollars.
The bad news? Our children learn from us, and do as we do, not as we say.
The message? Don’t take responsibility, blame the other person and walk away.
Not sure that is the text book model for parenting. Lets teach our children the right thing, by doing the right thing.
About Hemant Rustogi