I'm pretty pissed

[Hawk]

that's pretty scary for sure. 

 

We all need to always keep talking to our kids about stuff like this...we never think it might happen to us and then bang, all of a sudden it does.

 

Good on your boys for being smart enough not to become a statistic...thank god they got their smarts from their mother.

[Jangler]

I was about 10 years old and a guy at the mall in Columbia, asked If I wanted a blow job, I thought he wanted to do my hair. Even tho I knew something wasn't right, I walked/ran away and called him a fa***t.   First of many weird conversations with my Mother... 

[Ja Rhule]

Scary, I'd send that motherfuger to the hospital. Id make sure his face looks like a fuging blueberry.

[Guest]

In my country it would be legal to hunt child predators. 

[teeray]

That is some scary poo right there

[PandaPancake]

Wouldn't it be great if it was Tony Hawk? Probably wasn't because he would know better

[Vampire the buffet slayer]

They were probably just trying to buy some weed.

You know how those suburban kids roll.

[Doc Holiday]

Scary poo

[Anybodyhome]

I don't have kids. Mostly because I couldn't handle raising a kid who couldn't experience the same freedom of movement I had as a kid.

 

I rode my bike everywhere. I could grab my fishing stuff and ride to a reservoir 7 miles away. My school bus stop, for the couple years of junior high I had to ride one, was about a half-mile from the house and we walked there. When we got home from school, the rule was to be home when the street lights turn on. 

 

I now live in a county neighborhood with 2 streets, both cul-de-sacs, and 18 houses. The neighborhood kids ride their bikes in the street, the adults talk together on the street almost daily during the spring, summer and fall. One of the reasons we bought our house here is because we saw the kids outside, we saw the adults congregating and there is only one way in and out of the 'hood. 

 

I feel bad for parents who can't even so much as let their kids walk to the bus stop. 

[Harris Aballah]

Two men in a black van tried to strike up a conversation with one of my twins yesterday at their bus stop. Luckily, they were smart enough not to go near them. I've talked to the other parents in the neighborhood and let them know. 

 

I'll be at their bus stop today, and I have something for them if they try to stop again. 

 

There is absolutely zero reason why any adults should feel the need to stop their vehicle and try to chit chat with my sons. 

There's been several similar reports in the Wake Forest area lately. WRAL said 1 of them had a mohawk, and the other was a short, chubby guy. Which has led to a lot of "Home Alone" jokes. But seriously, I have seen reports about 2 guys in a van trying to pick up kids in WF. Hopefully, they find justice first. 

.

[clark kent]

Last year in my school 2 old men approached a 18 year old and asked him if they wanted to party at their home on school campus

[mr beauxjangles]

Our neighborhood in Atlanta was in a frenzy a couple of weeks ago when a van was spotted by multiple kids walking home from school with the side door open, driving slowly, and taking photos of them. Police came out, parents were losing their minds - there must have been ten different kids that said something to their parents. This came about a month after an eight or nine year old girl was walking up her driveway and reported that a van with two men had approached her in the driveway and asked if her mom or dad was home.

 

We found out not too long ago that it was apparently HGTV scouting our neighborhood for potential homes to use in a series (bunch of old craftsman homes). While parents were relieved that it was HGTV, it begged the question: what fugging planet are you people from where you don't think twice about creeping through the neighborhood at a snail's pace with a van door open, hanging out taking photographs (of what all the kids assumed were of them) and even approaching a young girl to ask if mom and dad are home?

 

That's not to suggest that what happened in your neighborhood was innocent. Just another tale. Glad you taught your kids what to do in that situation and hope you have a strong neighborhood network to communicate effectively about these incidents. If you don't have it already, I would very strongly advocate that you try to get a Nextdoor network set up for your neighborhood. It's basically a localized social network that is exclusive to your neighborhood. It has been so incredibly helpful in our neighborhood with regards to getting the word out about suspicious crap like this in a matter of minutes. It is not very widespread at this point and I don't know if it's in Charlotte at this point, but definitely worth looking into: www.nextdoor.com.

[Guest]

 It is not very widespread at this point and I don't know if it's in Charlotte at this point, but definitely worth looking into: www.nextdoor.com.

 

Its in charlotte, in my neighborhood at least. 

[dos poptarts]

Our neighborhood in Atlanta was in a frenzy a couple of weeks ago when a van was spotted by multiple kids walking home from school with the side door open, driving slowly, and taking photos of them. Police came out, parents were losing their minds - there must have been ten different kids that said something to their parents. This came about a month after an eight or nine year old girl was walking up her driveway and reported that a van with two men had approached her in the driveway and asked if her mom or dad was home.

 

We found out not too long ago that it was apparently HGTV scouting our neighborhood for potential homes to use in a series (bunch of old craftsman homes). While parents were relieved that it was HGTV, it begged the question: what fugging planet are you people from where you don't think twice about creeping through the neighborhood at a snail's pace with a van door open, hanging out taking photographs (of what all the kids assumed were of them) and even approaching a young girl to ask if mom and dad are home?

 

That's not to suggest that what happened in your neighborhood was innocent. Just another tale. Glad you taught your kids what to do in that situation and hope you have a strong neighborhood network to communicate effectively about these incidents. If you don't have it already, I would very strongly advocate that you try to get a Nextdoor network set up for your neighborhood. It's basically a localized social network that is exclusive to your neighborhood. It has been so incredibly helpful in our neighborhood with regards to getting the word out about suspicious crap like this in a matter of minutes. It is not very widespread at this point and I don't know if it's in Charlotte at this point, but definitely worth looking into: www.nextdoor.com.

 

Next week on "Dateline: To Catch a Predator", NBC discovers that suspects are using the guise of HGTV and GoogleMaps to provide cover if discovered and questioned in neighborhoods.