Must solo adult control brats at bus stop?

DEAR AMY: Every morning I walk my youngest child to the bus stop and wait for five minutes until the bus comes. For the past two years, I have been the only adult down there with my own child and two neighbor children. These kids do not listen to me when I tell them to do or not do things. Last winter they threw snowballs at cars and climbed on top of dangerously high snowbanks right at the road's edge. One child is on his own in the morning, as his dad has left for work about 20 minutes before the bus' scheduled arrival. The other child's mother is home but chooses not to accompany her to the stop. There is a lot of roadwork in the area, and today the foreman spoke to me about keeping the kids off the equipment. I told him I have asked these children several times to stay off the equipment, but they don't listen. I then pointed the foreman to their homes and told him the parents' names so he could contact them. Am I responsible for these kids by default because I'm the only adult there? How is it fair that by being a responsible parent I'm the one in the hot seat? Ignored MomDEAR IGNORED: If you are a responsible adult in the company of children who don't have the character or cognitive capacity to make safe choices, then, yes -- you should be responsible for trying to keep them safe. It's not fair, but then, to think of this as an issue of fairness puts you in league with the children you can't seem to control.

It's not fair. You're the adult. Now act like one. That means you don't ask these kids to stay off construction equipment -- you tell them (the foreman also could have ended this quickly by barking at the kids).

You don't mention reaching out to their parents to share your alarm. Call both parents. Let them know their kids are out of control and that you aren't able to keep them safe because they won't listen to you.