My son James was brought home by the police today, I'm so proud

I told him it was a stupid thing to do because he could have easily have been a victim, and that he did everything wrong,... I told him he should have used the phone in his pocket and called for help, and how lucky he was that there wasn't 4 boys dead...but still, I am so proud of him.

After dinner James (he's 12)had asked if it was ok to go for a bike ride so he and Cedrick took off about 5. James said they were arguing about either going up to the university or over to Civic Center Park when they saw three boys they knew over on the pond by the library so they decided to go over there.

He told me they were standing on the bank telling the boys how stupid they were for being out on the ice (two had walked out to pick up a stick they had thrown out there) when the ice broke and one fell in . I guess the other boy realized what happened and walked back to the bank so James decided to go help the one in the water and fell through himself. He said he started to panic at first but after he realized the water was only chest high and he started feeling all warm and tingly, he decided it wasn't so bad so he grabbed the little kid and tried to put him back up on the ice but he kept falling back through.

Cedrick and the other boys went and got some branches and brought them back. According to James, one of the other boys brought a branch out to him and the ice started breaking and he started to fall in too. James said he let go of the one he had and pushed the other back up when Cedrick finally brought a really long branch and he was finally able to crawl out with the boy who had originally fell in.

After that the boys walked up the hill to the police station. James said that when they got to the lobby, there was no one around; the police station has a call phone outside the door and you have to pick up a phone to call for assistance, He said he couldn't talk (he was shivering so bad) so Cedrick had to press the button. James said it was funny because after Cedrick pushed the button a few times a voice came on and told him he might want to try and pick up the phone. He told that one of the boys was crying because he was afraid of getting in trouble and the other two tried to run away so Cedrick snatched them back and made them go in.

Once inside the police station, they told them what happened and dripped mud all over the floor (James was oddly amused about that little fact) he said they called the other boys parents but drove them home. I spoke with the officer when he got here and he assured me James wasn't in any trouble. He said he didn't really know what happened.. he just knew there were 5 wet boys and his captain told him to drive them home and that I had to go pick up his bike in front of the police station.

You know, I don't know if I'm going to survive this kid growing up. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. I drove past the pond.. you can see it from the road, it's probably a good 80-100 yards across. Those boys were insane to go out there. I could see where the ice was broken off in several spots.. they were a good 20-30 feet out there. Those boys don't know how lucky they are. It took a couple of hours to get James warmed up. He's got some scratches, bruises and a little frost bite on his fingertips but other than that he's seems ok. He said he didn't swallow any water but I told him to let me know if he has diarrhea tomorrow. The water isn't stagnant but there still could be some bacteria in it that could make him sick.

It scares me... getting this little glimpse of his character. I'm proud and amazed that he felt compelled to take action in the situation, yet scared to death that he let his instincts take over without thinking about it first. The only thing that seemed to bother him about the entire episode is that his cell phone is shot and he's not going to be able to live with out it the next couple of days.

James is a compassionate caring young man.

Those are good traits to have when growing up in the world. I think he'll do fine.

As a father with 4 sons, though, I understand your fears. I still have them and mine are grown and gone. Hang in there.

A little too quick in acting before thinking, but brave and caring.

Isn't parenthood great? I have 2 girls - ages 10 and 8, and life is wonderful being a mom to them.

I'm glad your son is doing fine. There are other kids who would have just stood there and done nothing.

half the timne you don;t know whether to laugh or cry

Good work to both of you!

You must be proud & grateful tonight - for many reasons!

:hug:

Thank you so much for sharing his story! I have to go lecture on the "unresponsive bystander effect" tomorrow in Introductory Psychology and it is so nice to read this antidote story. :-)

I'm so glad all the boys are safe and that the officer that came to my home wasn't reporting a terrible tragedy. He wants me to let him stay home from school tomorrow as a reward but I'm making him go. I have to think of something special to do for him though. But it can't be cake (we've had a b-day in the family every 2 weeks since Christmas and we're totally caked out) maybe I'll take him after school for a new cell phone?

Though, sometimes, in retrospect, we are most proud of things we did without receiving any reward -- praise can go a long, long way in letting him know how amazing he is...

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

but he "Did the Right Thing" -- and had the wit to go to the cops afterward. Clearly you're doing something right.

You must be very proud :hug:

even thought he doesn't like them from him mommy anymore.

I do understand your fears though. I have a daughter, and while she is now 26, I would still have the same fears if she were ever in a situation that could cause her harm.

Kudos to your fine son! And thank The Maker that he is all right!

Be proud.

Your son is the stuff of heros. Give him a hug.

show it to my fourteen-year-old daughter. She is going through a cynical stage, calling love a "chemical reaction" and decrying altruism as a lie which exists only in theory. Etc. etc. Your son James is not only a noble young man, but an example of the bonds we share with one another. We don't know they're there until they are stretched to the point of being broken. Bless you and the son you have raised.

about him going trough his "dark" period. He just rolled his eyes as I closed his bedroom door. Hang in there with your daughter, she'll turn out ok.

I was telling a friend of mine recently that it's like they go to sleep one night and wake up the next day possessing all the wisdom of the Methusela. They think that all knowledge and experience has been wiped from their parents minds and that we no longer know anything.

It's the worst part of their growing up I think.. the cutting of the cord.. their quest for independence.

We have an extra phone; all you'd need to do is replace the sim card.

What a great kid!!

thanks for the offer though.. you're very kind.

Maybe, just maybe, they will feel compassion for the heroic thing your son did and replace it for you.

I feel for you. I have a 13yo who would do the same thing and it scares the shit out of me every time he leaves the house. Two boys drowned in the reservoir right next to my house a couple of weeks ago; classmates of my son. He goes to the lake all the time to fish. I worry so badly I can't do anything until he gets home.

And I thought his sister was difficult.

I can kind of relate though. My daughter (she's 14) just went skiing for the first time a couple of weeks back. Well, she broke her arm (3rd break no less, but the last one was five years ago- nothing wrong with her except she's an adventuresome person). Anyway, I said, "So I guess it'll be awhile before you want to ski again?" She said, "No way. That kicked ass. I want to go again as soon as I can." :crazy: Mainly she's upset she can't run and is missing Spring basketball.

I went through a bone breaking period myself when I was young. I broke my arm 2x before I was 8. My mother wouldn't let me learn how to ski because of my accident proness. I finally got on a snowboard when I was about 40... she is right.. way cool.