s/o Lost children

[unsinkable]

I didn't want to hijack Impish's thread but it has me thinking.

 

When my ds was 3, he ran out of the house and hid in our van. It was fall, but sunny so he could have gotten overheated.

 

I realized he was gone pretty quickly (2 minutes or so) b/c we were getting ready to go somewhere. I was yelling his name inside the house, then in the yard, yelling as loud as a mom would yell if she can't find her son! I noticed our new (then) neighbor & another woman leaning against the fence, adjacent to my driveway, looking into my van. I looked into the van & saw my son bouncing around in there.

 

I got ds out and I looked at the women and asked, "Why didn't you tell me he was in there?" I had been yelling his name at the top of my lungs!

 

Her answer? "I didn't know if he was allowed."

 

Are you kidding me?!?! :001_huh:

 

Why couldn't she just walk over to me (I was in my backyard) and say he was in the van? It absolutely kills me to this day that she stood there and watched him, listening to me yell frantically and run around the yard and garage.

 

That being said, if I found a child that I didn't know wandering around, I'd probably call the police. If I knew the child, I'd take him home.

[adams101]

DD was MAYBE 2. I noticed she wasn't in the house. We looked everywhere! I went outside, didn't see her. As I was walking back in, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. She was across the street, in the garage of our neighbor. It was already dark, maybe 7:00, she was in nothing but a diaper, and it was kind of cold. When I went to get her, she kept saying the neighbor's name. Best we can figure, she was knocking on their door, trying to get him to come out. He is an adult, but he was always playing with her in the yard. He, or his wife, never heard her knock. I called every neighbor and asked them to keep an eye out for her. She did it once, she could do it again.

 

We had a chain on the front door at that house after I found ds, about 18 months at that time, playing in our garage. We had just moved in, and I KNOW the front door was locked. He climbed in the window, unlocked it, and was outside playing. I called DH at work and said don't come home without a solution. I had so many people proceed to tell me how that chain wouldn't keep anyone out. I promptly told them it was to keep the kids IN!

[Tess in the Burbs]

my dd left the house at age 3 while daddy was in the shower. I had left an hour earlier for the day.

 

we lived next to a highway and busy street at the time.

 

luckily a police car stopped and asked her where she lived and she pointed her way back home.

 

the investigation and emotional turmoil about this was so hard on me.

 

I too think if you see a child walking...ask. if they can take you to their home, do it! don't call the police unless the child can't tell you where they live. try to find the home and take the child yourself.

 

and yes, if I see a child running around alone...I go ask the family. everytime. I would want them to tell me if my kids were out alone!

[MamaT]

When my second ds was about 5 my parents were babysitting for us at our home. My dh was at work and I was going to college full time. My son decided to hide from my parents. He hid behind the heavy living room drapes where he listened to them calling his name and looking for him. They looked everywhere - walked up and down our street calling his name (he watched them do this from the window), checked our pool, etc. When he heard my mom say that she was calling the police he came out.

 

When they called my dh at work to tell him what had happened, he left work to come home and DEAL with the boy. I didn't know anything about it until that afternoon when I got home.

[dirty ethel rackham]

When my nephew was 18 months he wandered away from home when the neighbor girl was supposed to be watching him. My SIL was driving home and saw a little boy sitting in the middle of the street, about a block from their house. She noticed with a shock that it was HER little boy. She scooped him up, put him in the car, drove home and sent the babysitter home. About 10 minutes later, the police showed up saying that there was a report that she had taken a little boy. SIL scooped her son up out of his crib and showed the officer that he was indeed her son (nephew was clinging to his mom and there were pics of him all over the house and that the babysitter was supposed to have been watching him. Then SIL demanded from the officer why the person who reported her did not actually get the child out of the street and report a found child rather than leave him in the street?

[Meriwether]

When my youngest was born, the older two were 2 and 3. We have a partial fence in the back yard, but it is possible to go through the neighbors yard to the street. I sat down to eat lunch. I think Mom was holding the baby. The 2 year old was by himself in the backyard. It was the first time the 3 year old wasn't with him. I never worried about him before, because she knew the boundries. In the time it took me to quickly eat a bowl of soup he was gone. I looked frantically in the house and called outside while Mom walked the creekbank - there is a fence partway down so we weren't worried about the actual creek.

 

He heard me calling and came from the back of a neighbors' house. We live on a quiet street with no through traffic, and he couldn't have been out of our yard more than 7 minutes (and probably less than 4) and we only looked for him for about 2 minutes before we found him, but when I realized he had crossed the street, I was horrified. I felt like a terrible parent. I can't imagine how I would have felt if the police had been called.

[lynn]

I didn't want to hijack Impish's thread but it has me thinking.

 

When my ds was 3, he ran out of the house and hid in our van. It was fall, but sunny so he could have gotten overheated.

 

I realized he was gone pretty quickly (2 minutes or so) b/c we were getting ready to go somewhere. I was yelling his name inside the house, then in the yard, yelling as loud as a mom would yell if she can't find her son! I noticed our new (then) neighbor & another woman leaning against the fence, adjacent to my driveway, looking into my van. I looked into the van & saw my son bouncing around in there.

 

I got ds out and I looked at the women and asked, "Why didn't you tell me he was in there?" I had been yelling his name at the top of my lungs!

 

Her answer? "I didn't know if he was allowed."

 

Are you kidding me?!?! :001_huh:

 

Why couldn't she just walk over to me (I was in my backyard) and say he was in the van? It absolutely kills me to this day that she stood there and watched him, listening to me yell frantically and run around the yard and garage.

 

That being said, if I found a child that I didn't know wandering around, I'd probably call the police. If I knew the child, I'd take him home.

 

Would you call the police immediately or wait outside with the child a couple of minutes to see if you hear a parent who just realized little suzie just went out the front door without mom knowing? I ask because my dd one day decided she was going for a walk all by herself and dh and I ran outside when we realized she had left, it had only been a minute or two and my neighbor knew she lived in the neighborhood but not sure where so she stood outside with her for a couple of minutes to see if someone was calling for her. We have since put alarms on the doors so we hear when it is opened.

[farmmom4him]

On Monday, I was in a "fog" following the funeral of my friend's baby's funeral. I had picked up my children from MIL. When we got home, I had to go to the restroom so bad, so I grabbed a couple of the groceries, and asked my two olders to help all the little into the house. I went back to make sure all were out of the van, and grab the rest of the groceries. All car seats were empty, grabbed the groceries, and went back inside. Sent everyone to the playroom, so I could "unwind', put groceries away, and change my clothes. The baby was screaming, so I changed, and put the cold stuff away, got her diaper changed, and sat to nurse her. Sitting there I looked and looked and noticed someone was missing. Throwing her down realizing that our 21 mo old never made it in. I ran to the van--through the goat head stickers bare feet. There he was sitting in the drivers seat drinking my 44 oz limeade. I had parked under a shade tree, and it was still, not overly hot in there. But, whew, what a terrible gut wrenching way to end a yucky day anyway.

 

I am not sure if he never got out of the van, or followed a sibling out for groceries--i am fairly sure it was the later, as I am just certain I saw him in the kitchen stacking canned goods like blocks.

 

We have since implemented a few new rules. ;o)

[i.love.lucy]

My scary story was when I was watching someone else's kid! I was babysitting a little guy who was just over 2.

 

He was sitting in a big chair by the window telling me he was looking out for Momma. So I left him sitting there and I was in the kitchen. When I called around the corner and didn't get a response, I looked and realized he had opened my front door and gone out to look for her!!! I ran out the front door and was screaming his name when over walked a neighbor 2 doors down carrying him. The neighbor thought he was my son and he looked at me like "how could you let this happen".

 

I think I took him inside, locked the door, and might have thrown up. Don't remember.:001_huh:

[unsinkable]

Would you call the police immediately or wait outside with the child a couple of minutes to see if you hear a parent who just realized little suzie just went out the front door without mom knowing? I ask because my dd one day decided she was going for a walk all by herself and dh and I ran outside when we realized she had left, it had only been a minute or two and my neighbor knew she lived in the neighborhood but not sure where so she stood outside with her for a couple of minutes to see if someone was calling for her. We have since put alarms on the doors so we hear when it is opened.

 

I'd wait a reasonable amount of time. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes? I think the lenght of time would depend on the situation.

 

I certainly wouldn't leave a baby in the street yet call the police!

[phathui5]

Last summer, 3yo ds and a friend were out back. I went in for a minute, then went out to check on them and they weren't there. The side gate was open. I ran out front and looked up and down the street and I didn't see them.

 

I went back in the yard, yelling for them. I turned and saw that they were both in our next door neighbor's yard playing with their PowerWheels.

 

I yelled at both boys about how scared I was that I couldn't find them and then took them inside.

[AuntPol]

My story:

 

When my kids were 2 and 1, I lived in a high rise apartment building in DC (about 20 floors). I take the kids down the elevator to the parking garage. When the door opened, my 2 yo dd darted out and I instinctly chased her and grabbed her because cars drove very fast and paid no attention to anyone. Meanwhile, the elevator door quickly closed with my 1 yo ds inside. There was no indicator light to let me know which floor it was on, no intercom to call the front desk, and I had no cell. I couldn't take the stairs because they were on the otherside of the parking lot and they went up the end of the building while the elevator was in the middle. Carrying DD, it was highly unlikely that I could have found him that way. So I stayed where I was (crying, banging and kicking the elevator door because we know how much that helps LOL) until someone brought him down. It was quite awhile because he had hit all the buttons going up and it was someone on a top floor that found him and they hit every button going down checking each floor for a panicked mom.

[ondreeuh]

It helps me to know I'm not the only one ...

 

DS was about 3 when he vanished. My mother was visiting and we were looking up something on the laptop in the living room with the french doors open, and ds was throwing a ball for the dog on the porch right outside the door (10 ft away?). We realized within a few minutes that he was no longer there and called him back to the door. We couldn't find him in my fenced yard, and did a quick check of the house in case he was hiding. I drove off to circle the neighborhood and ask every one I saw if they had seen him while my mom kept searching the house and then drove in her own car. After a few loops I made a 911 call and was giving his description when a neighbor flagged me down and told me he was back home.

 

He had climbed our 4' chain-link fence (first time he'd done that!) and crossed the street, walked down the block, and had gone about a block on the very busy road towards the mall. A police officer had seen him walking and put him in his car. My mother had driven past the police car and was trying to flag him down when she realized he already had my son! She directed him back home, and I met them on the sidewalk. I remember collapsing on the sidewalk and blubbering like a baby.

 

Thankfully the police officer only took down my information and it never went further than that. Maybe it helped that I'd had a witness (my mom)?

 

There were two times that we had to do a Code Adam at a store because he slipped away - one time a fellow shopper listened to my description and found him for me! I ended up buying an expensive stroller that had a 5-pt harness and could hold a child over 40 lbs, and just took him everywhere in that. We began medication for his ADHD when he was 5 and it made a tremendous difference in his impulse control.

 

Now my 20 month old almost got lost last month. We were at a water spray park right off a busy road, and I was tailing my toddler. My eyes must have glazed over while I was staring, because I was watching him climbing on his brother in a small pool and then I realized he was gone. I screamed at the top of my lungs "I can't find my baby!" and "I need HELP!" and NO ONE reacted! Granted, the water pump was kinda loud but I was screaming my heart out and it was unbelievable that it wasn't working. I was afraid he'd walked into the street or someone had carried him away so I kept pivoting and scanning the area, and he popped out from behind a large rock a few feet away, so everything was OK, but I won't forget that terror.

[Rosie_0801]

When I was two or three I'd gone to work with Mum. She got rather a nasty shock when she realised that I was not hanging out with her boss, but rather I'd nicked off out of the shop, across the highway to the beach. Funnily, that day our dog had refused to stay home, though Mum had taken him and locked him in the yard twice; so she'd tied him up outside the shop. Well the dog broke his chain and accompanied me to the beach. Mum found us both there playing in the sand, me with wet little tootsies!

 

Then there were those two times, around the same age, where she threw me out of home. The first time I stood in the middle of the front yard and cried until she let me back in. The second time I turned and headed off down the street, which gave her a heck of a shock so she chased after me. She didn't try it a third time, hehhehe.

 

Rosie

[Irene Lynn]

There were two times that we had to do a Code Adam at a store because he slipped away - one time a fellow shopper listened to my description and found him for me! I ended up buying an expensive stroller that had a 5-pt harness and could hold a child over 40 lbs, and just took him everywhere in that. We began medication for his ADHD when he was 5 and it made a tremendous difference in his impulse control.

 

I lost my little guy in a store, too. He was under 2, I think, but he could run pretty fast. I was in a dressing room and had just taken off too many clothes, when he suddenly decided to bolt. (No, it wasn't the sight of me that scared him. LOL) Anyway, I did take the time to grab a shirt and resolved never again to wear anything button up if I intended to try anything on. I buttoned on the fly, but he had a headstart. He was nowhere to be seen or heard, just gone. I ran around a little, then headed for the desk. Another mom listened to the description and looked for him, too. She found him at the toys. I don't know how the little guy knew just where the toys were but he must have made a bee line straight for them. I thought they were further than he would go. He was having a happy time. I went back to get the rest of my clothes and my purse and to stap him down securely. No more freedom!!

 

He has also escaped out of the house. My dh did not latch the door into the garage, which has a child safety thingy on it. Those don't do much good, if the door isn't closed to begin with. AND dh also left the door leading outside from the garage open. I was upstairs, but something told me to look out the window. There was our fellow happily walking out. Daddy was already gone. He hadn't bothered to wake me up to let me know the guy was up, but had put the TV on and thought he would stay there quietly. My dh lives in a dream world sometimes. OUR SON?? WOULD STAY PUT???!!! Ha! Our dd was so well behaved that she would never have sone something like that, really. She was an unusual child. Our son is an unusual child, too. I don't trust him at all. :) But I love them both so much.

[Amber in SJ]

I guess while we are all sharing:

 

I was on the light rail (train-like public transportation) with my 3yo and infant after shopping at the mall. The light rail is notorious for short pauses at each station. You literally have to get up while the train is moving, make your way to the doors and wait for them to open. On this particular December day, I was standing at the doors with my infant in a front one arm, purchases in my backpack, an umbrella stroller in the other arm and my 3 yo by my leg, holding on tightly to my shirt tail. The train stops, the doors open amd we get down two of the three steps. At the bottom step a man with an oxygen tank attempts to get on the train without letting me off. I step to the side to let him go by & the doors are already closing. I feel my daughters hand let go and she steps off the last step through the closing doors. I drop the stroller, leap the bottom step, start screaming and attempting the pry the doors apart. I can see my daughter through the windows looking at me & starting to cry, people are pulling the emergency stop handles but the train pulls out and my daughter is quickly disappearing as we move. She is alone on the platform. There is nothing to stop her from getting on either set of tracks and trying to follow me, or taking the short stairs up to an 8 lane street to try to go home. I try to make my way through the cars to the driver, hitting every emergency button as we go, when his voice comes through the speaker, "What is the nature of your emergency?" I tell him what happened and he radios to see if there is an attendant at the platform. There is not. Inexplicably the train speeds upand we reach the next platform in seconds. There is a train going back waiting. I don't think I have ever prayed so hard in my life. When I got to the platform, I stepped off and there she was with a young man in a local college sweatshirt. She told me the man had told her her mom would be back soon. I had to walk the mile home with her wrapped around my leg. I didn't cry until both were in their beds napping and I called to tell my dh what had happened, and then I couldn't stop.

 

I, for one, am thankful for those people who do not "mind their own business" when it comes to toddlers alone.

 

My Dh can not understand why I would ever tell anyone this story, but I tell him it is my therapy.

 

Amber in SJ

[melissel]

I guess while we are all sharing:

 

I was on the light rail (train-like public transportation) with my 3yo and infant after shopping at the mall. The light rail is notorious for short pauses at each station. You literally have to get up while the train is moving, make your way to the doors and wait for them to open. On this particular December day, I was standing at the doors with my infant in a front one arm, purchases in my backpack, an umbrella stroller in the other arm and my 3 yo by my leg, holding on tightly to my shirt tail. The train stops, the doors open amd we get down two of the three steps. At the bottom step a man with an oxygen tank attempts to get on the train without letting me off. I step to the side to let him go by & the doors are already closing. I feel my daughters hand let go and she steps off the last step through the closing doors. I drop the stroller, leap the bottom step, start screaming and attempting the pry the doors apart. I can see my daughter through the windows looking at me & starting to cry, people are pulling the emergency stop handles but the train pulls out and my daughter is quickly disappearing as we move. She is alone on the platform. There is nothing to stop her from getting on either set of tracks and trying to follow me, or taking the short stairs up to an 8 lane street to try to go home. I try to make my way through the cars to the driver, hitting every emergency button as we go, when his voice comes through the speaker, "What is the nature of your emergency?" I tell him what happened and he radios to see if there is an attendant at the platform. There is not. Inexplicably the train speeds upand we reach the next platform in seconds. There is a train going back waiting. I don't think I have ever prayed so hard in my life. When I got to the platform, I stepped off and there she was with a young man in a local college sweatshirt. She told me the man had told her her mom would be back soon. I had to walk the mile home with her wrapped around my leg. I didn't cry until both were in their beds napping and I called to tell my dh what had happened, and then I couldn't stop.

 

I, for one, am thankful for those people who do not "mind their own business" when it comes to toddlers alone.

 

My Dh can not understand why I would ever tell anyone this story, but I tell him it is my therapy.

 

Amber in SJ

 

All these stories are scary, but Amber, for some reason I just burst into tears upon finishing yours. Maybe it was the college kid waiting with your daughter? Or maybe it was having taken subways and light rail trains so often myself? I don't know, but I literally just burst into tears. Thank God she knew to stay put!

 

ETA that I don't have a story of my own to share, and I consider that a minor miracle because my DD3 was born with the mindset that she can do anything herself if she just puts her mind to it. I fully expected to have a story like this of my own by now, and I know my time isn't over yet!

Edited August 28, 2009 by melissel

[jujsky]

Several years ago, before I was a mom, I was taking a walk through my complex and saw a woman walking with a little girl stomping along behind her, arms crossed and obviously in a foul mood. The woman kept looking back at the little girl, and I assumed (naturally, I think) that they were together. The way it looked to me was like the little girl was mad at the mom and having a big pouty-fit stomping along behind her, while the mom kept checking back to make sure DD was there.

 

I passed them going in the opposite direction, and maybe 3 or 4 minutes later, a car stopped with a frantic-looking couple, asking if I had seen a 4 year-old girl. "Dark, curly hair?" I asked them. That was the one. I explained that I had just passed her, and that she was following a woman that I had assumed was her mother.

 

What gets me is that the woman this little girl was trailing KNEW there a small child behind her. They were walking on the main street of our complex where cars often speed by. There are 2 ponds along that road that are very tempting to little kids. Why didn't she stop her? Had it been me (and maybe it would have been if I had started out on my walk 5 or 10 minutes earlier that day) I would have stopped her and tried to get her to tell me where she lived. If she refused, I would have waited with her by the road to see if anyone came for her, and as a last resort I would have called the police to see if anyone had reported a missing child.

 

I'm guessing the child was ticked at her parents, they turned their back for a minute, and she decided to stomp off in a huff. Really, it could happen to anyone. I didn't blame them for what happened, but even all these years later I'm still disgusted with the woman in front of this child who did nothing to stop her.

Edited August 28, 2009 by jujsky

[jujsky]

I guess while we are all sharing:

 

I was on the light rail (train-like public transportation) with my 3yo and infant after shopping at the mall. The light rail is notorious for short pauses at each station. You literally have to get up while the train is moving, make your way to the doors and wait for them to open. On this particular December day, I was standing at the doors with my infant in a front one arm, purchases in my backpack, an umbrella stroller in the other arm and my 3 yo by my leg, holding on tightly to my shirt tail. The train stops, the doors open amd we get down two of the three steps. At the bottom step a man with an oxygen tank attempts to get on the train without letting me off. I step to the side to let him go by & the doors are already closing. I feel my daughters hand let go and she steps off the last step through the closing doors. I drop the stroller, leap the bottom step, start screaming and attempting the pry the doors apart. I can see my daughter through the windows looking at me & starting to cry, people are pulling the emergency stop handles but the train pulls out and my daughter is quickly disappearing as we move. She is alone on the platform. There is nothing to stop her from getting on either set of tracks and trying to follow me, or taking the short stairs up to an 8 lane street to try to go home. I try to make my way through the cars to the driver, hitting every emergency button as we go, when his voice comes through the speaker, "What is the nature of your emergency?" I tell him what happened and he radios to see if there is an attendant at the platform. There is not. Inexplicably the train speeds upand we reach the next platform in seconds. There is a train going back waiting. I don't think I have ever prayed so hard in my life. When I got to the platform, I stepped off and there she was with a young man in a local college sweatshirt. She told me the man had told her her mom would be back soon. I had to walk the mile home with her wrapped around my leg. I didn't cry until both were in their beds napping and I called to tell my dh what had happened, and then I couldn't stop.

 

I, for one, am thankful for those people who do not "mind their own business" when it comes to toddlers alone.

 

My Dh can not understand why I would ever tell anyone this story, but I tell him it is my therapy.

 

Amber in SJ

 

I cried when I read this too! I could put myself in your shoes and just feel the panic, fear, and frustration. Thank goodness that college kid was there and got involved! It's obvious from so many of the posts I read here (this thread and others) that many people wouldn't have bothered.

[AmeliaJade]

All these stories are scary, but Amber, for some reason I just burst into tears upon finishing yours. Maybe it was the college kid waiting with your daughter? Or maybe it was having taken subways and light rail trains so often myself? I don't know, but I literally just burst into tears. Thank God she knew to stay put!

 

ETA that I don't have a story of my own to share, and I consider that a minor miracle because my DD3 was born with the mindset that she can do anything herself if she just puts her mind to it. I fully expected to have a story like this of my own by now, and I know my time isn't over yet!

 

I was going to say the same thing. These are scary but until I read Amber's story my eyes were dry. Then I read her's and I just started crying.

[christielee7278]

I guess while we are all sharing:

 

I was on the light rail (train-like public transportation) with my 3yo and infant after shopping at the mall. The light rail is notorious for short pauses at each station. You literally have to get up while the train is moving, make your way to the doors and wait for them to open. On this particular December day, I was standing at the doors with my infant in a front one arm, purchases in my backpack, an umbrella stroller in the other arm and my 3 yo by my leg, holding on tightly to my shirt tail. The train stops, the doors open amd we get down two of the three steps. At the bottom step a man with an oxygen tank attempts to get on the train without letting me off. I step to the side to let him go by & the doors are already closing. I feel my daughters hand let go and she steps off the last step through the closing doors. I drop the stroller, leap the bottom step, start screaming and attempting the pry the doors apart. I can see my daughter through the windows looking at me & starting to cry, people are pulling the emergency stop handles but the train pulls out and my daughter is quickly disappearing as we move. She is alone on the platform. There is nothing to stop her from getting on either set of tracks and trying to follow me, or taking the short stairs up to an 8 lane street to try to go home. I try to make my way through the cars to the driver, hitting every emergency button as we go, when his voice comes through the speaker, "What is the nature of your emergency?" I tell him what happened and he radios to see if there is an attendant at the platform. There is not. Inexplicably the train speeds upand we reach the next platform in seconds. There is a train going back waiting. I don't think I have ever prayed so hard in my life. When I got to the platform, I stepped off and there she was with a young man in a local college sweatshirt. She told me the man had told her her mom would be back soon. I had to walk the mile home with her wrapped around my leg. I didn't cry until both were in their beds napping and I called to tell my dh what had happened, and then I couldn't stop.

 

I, for one, am thankful for those people who do not "mind their own business" when it comes to toddlers alone.

 

My Dh can not understand why I would ever tell anyone this story, but I tell him it is my therapy.

 

Amber in SJ

 

SOOOO scary!!! I couldn't imagine!! I too burst into tears while reading your story. Thank God she stayed put and the young man waited with her.

[MariannNOVA]

My sister is now 48 yrs old, so this must have happened 45 years ago. My grand-mother was locking the dorr with her key and ds was at her side. GM turned after locking the door and ds was gone. GM found her up the street (probably 10 houses away) standing at the corner of what was a busy neighborhood intersection. I think it took 10 years off of Gm's life.

 

Again, ds -- 3 yrs old, fenced back yard. she is out there playing, my mom is hanging clothes on the line. Mom looks over at ds when she is finished hanging laundry and ds is gone.....gate is still locked, ds is gone, she had been 'digging' while mom hung laundry. A neighbor from behind our house appears in about 2 minutes with DS -- he found her in front of his house and he was returning her -- she had dug under the fence and crawled into the yard behind us.

 

My dd then 2.5: We are in wegman's. the twins are in one of those 'car carts' -- I hate them. They are too big and difficult to maneuver. I wheel from the front of the store to the back, and dd5 says she has to use the rest room. I look in little car cab to see if dd2.5 does as well, and her seat in the cart is EMPTY! Store staff springs into action -- doors are closed, store personnel have an extremely specific plan to follow in such instances. Dh is brought to front of store while giving a description of what dd is wearing. Store associate stays with me and I give her a description. The entire thing lasts about 3 minutes - feels like 3 lifetimes! A woman in line at the pharmacy looks down and sees dd2.5 (announcements have been made over the PA) and asks her if she is lost. DD2.5 answers, 'Nope.' Nice woman brings dd2.5 to courtesy counter. dd2.5 tells us that she wanted to walk and simply got out of the cart and walked away.

 

When I was a kid, one of my cousins got out of his crib, let hinself out of the house, and began walking to Church (it was Sunday a.m. - like about 5am - church was a couple of blocks away) -- my grandmother (yes, the same one - boy, those kids tortured her) is driving to the bakery she and my grand father own and it is early in the a.m. She sees a little kid in pjs in the middle of the street walking towards church. Yup, it's my cousin.

 

We have an alarm system and we have had latches at the tops of doors to keep kids in, and signals so we can hear when doors and windows are opened and closed.

[hsmom3tn]

I have never had a problem with my kids wandering off. From the time they could walk they have followed me around like little ducklings. If I stop suddenly, they run into me. But once we were in JC Penney and one of my daughters got separated from me. My son was 8 and the girls were 6 at the time. We were looking at coats and I decided to move on, but she didn't realize that we had walked away and she was still standing there looking at coats. I remember looking back and telling them to come on and just assumed she was following us, like she always had. I don't know how long it was before I realized that she wasn't with me - maybe 5 minutes, but it seems like longer. I retraced my steps and couldn't find her anywhere. The store was so crowded, I couldn't help but thinking that someone had walked out with her. I went to the checkout counter and told them that I had lost my child, gave a description, and the lady got on the phone and relayed the information to someone else. Almost immediately, someone called back and said that they had her at another checkout station. She had been walking around trying to find us and one of the employees had found her.

 

What makes me feel worse, though, as a mother, is the fact that I have had two children fall into a duck pond while they were with me. Not one, but two! Both of my girls, but not at the same time. You know, the ponds/lakes where you can go and feed the ducks/fish? One of my DD's fell in when she was only about 18 months. That was soooo scary. I had 5 kids with me and we were feeding the ducks. I turned my head for just a second to answer another child's question and my DD stepped too close to the edge and fell in backwards. I heard a splash and looked down to see her feet sticking up out of the water, slowly sinking. I had to get in and pull her back up.

 

Several years later, when my girls were 5 or 6, my other DD fell into a different lake while we were feeding the fish. She just sort of slid off the edge, so she landed on her feet and the water was only a little bit above her waist. She was okay, but completely freaked out.

 

Things happen, no matter how careful you are with your kids. :(

[vkay]

I haven't lost one of mine yet, but I did find a toddler once. My dh and I, plus kids, were riding along a narrow 2 lane street with a speed limit of 45 mph. I noticed a 2 year old just standing right on the edge. As we passed, I couldn't see an adult anywhere in sight. I told my dh to turn around. We did, and now the toddler was stepping into the street. Luckily all of the other cars had seen him and were all slowed down and some stopped. I jumped out, ran over and scooped him up.

 

I then asked him where his mommy was. He pointed in the direction of a long dirt road path. We walked down the street passing a couple of houses. Nobody looked like they were home in those houses, so I kept walking. Then at the end of the road there was a house with an older boy playing outside and lots of toys in the driveway. Bingo. The older boy asked me why I have his brother. I just asked him to find his mom. She came out and literally fell apart when she realized what had just happened. She cried and hugged me, then him, then me, then him.....

 

What made it even more difficult for the parents was the fact that the father had lost his sister that way when he was little. She had been playing, wandered away and had been hit by a car.

 

Apparently, they thought that since they lived down a very long semi private drive way (1/4+ mile maybe?), that he would never walk that far away. **Never underestimate the power of the toddler!

 

It felt wonderful to bring the little boy home to his mom. :D

 

We remained friends for a few years after that - until we moved away.

[Nestof3]

Honestly, I've seen parents get nasty if you do say something, like they're in defense mode. Or, perhaps this woman didn't have children that age? It's hard if you don't have kids to know exactly what they can and cannot do.

[lynn]

I was in Frye's with my 4 and 9 year old they were being kids but pretty much stayed right behind me while I shopped. I turn around to see the 9 year old and no 4 year old. I had my 9 year old stand in the main aisle so his brother could see him if he came up another aisle while I went down looking aisle to aisle. AFter 2 rounds of going up and down the store I fianlly approached someone who worked at the store and said I ened help finding my 4 year old son. He asked his name and all he did for me was page him. I still went around the store in tears by now and asked several employees if they saw a 4 year old boy and gave a description. I kid you not all I got was a "no haven't seen him" and not 1 person took me seriously enough to help me look for him, no adam alert, no one standing at the front doors. I even had to check the bathrooms myself. We finally did find him, he was hiding under some patio furniture. It's a pretty helpless feeling when you don't know where your child is and no one around you gives a hoot.

[ElizabethB]

We thought our son had wandered off when he was a little older than 2. But, after a long 10 or 20 minutes we found him asleep sitting up in a tiny space between a stereo speaker and a trunk behind our computer desk (we had set it up in a triangle in a corner with a trunk behind it.)

 

They can fit in really tiny spaces at that age, we have friends who had a similar incident with a young child asleep in a tiny tiny space between their couch and the wall.

 

He also once when he was 3 ran out into the car ahead of me when we were going to go shopping, hit the lock button from inside of the car, and strapped himself in. At that age, he could strap himself in, but only undo the top strap, not the bottom. My keys were not in their usual spot. It was a mild day and the car was in the garage, so he was not in danger, just stuck until we could find keys. Once he realized his predicament, he was very sad.

 

My daughter and I tried to coach him through how to unstrap himself. I left her in the garage with him to keep him company while I looked for the keys. The extra set of keys was not in its normal spot, either.

 

I called my husband at work, he was in a meeting. Luckily, the guy I talked to has 3 children, so he quickly understood how this could happen and that I needed to talk to my husband immediately.

 

My poor little guy kept begging me not to go away, but I needed to look for the keys. (I would periodically come out and check on the children in between key searching.) A few minutes later, I found my keys and got him out of the car. He has never done that again, and learned why we told him not to touch any buttons in the car!

[PineFarmMom]

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Edited August 30, 2009 by Texas T

[lionfamily1999]

I ran away at 5. I went a few blocks and couldn't find a circus, no matter how carefully I looked. So, I moved under a pine tree in someone's yard about a block from home. The person living there brought me out some snacks and drinks and then asked me where my mail would be coming from. I was totally confused, and then they offered to go to my house and check and see if I had any letters, so they could bring them to me. I described my home and off they went... No letters, but I did have one seething mother, lol. I still think back on that and love how they handled the situation. We didn't know them at all, but they couldn't have done it better, imo.

 

 

 

 

I've never lost/lost any of my kids. Dd has 'disappeared,' but she was in the house all along (the small spaces mentioned by pps).

 

Older ds did run from me once, augh. I had surgery on my foot and was on crutches, he was two. We'd gone to my mom's because I could not handle him and the pain. As soon as he got out of the car he took off running. I was crying and hopping on crutches as fast as I could, but I had no hope of catching him :( A neighbor, one my parents did not get along with, saw my predicament and caught up with him as I was dragging myself up a hill on my belly. I was a mess, dirty muddy tears, the whole nine yards. And here comes the up-to-that-point-unliked neighbor with my giggling two-year-old. He even helped me to my mom's door. We've been friends ever since :)

 

Luke is a work in progress. I can see the shenanigans and hijinks glittering behind his brown eyes. I'm sure I'll have plenty of things that will both make me cry and make me laugh so hard I'll cry later.

[OnTheBrink]

I've lost both my son and my dd, and both times, it was at church!

 

When my son was 2, he was in the nursery, which was across the campus (mega church) from the Sunday School room I was in. Class ended, I took too long chatting and when I got to the nursery, it was locked up, closed tight, no child to be found.

 

I asked around, no one seemed to know where the teachers were or what happened to any left over children. I panicked. I searched all over, asked if people had seen him, asked where the teachers were, no one knew a thing. I tore back toward the Sunday school classroom, to ask the teacher of the class what to do. He comes strolling toward me, carrying ds, who was quite content. Seems the nursery folks, realizing what room I was in, decided to bring ds to me instead of waiting for me to come to them. We had actually passed each other; I was on one side of the building, they were on the other. They handed ds to my Sunday School teacher's care, because they knew he was a personal friend and he was also an intern at the church. So, it all ended well, but I was ticked that no one mentioned that they'd bring him to me if I was late. So, lesson learned: Don't be late!

 

My friend, who was given ds, tried to comfort my sheer panic by relating this humorous story: When he was 18 months old, his mother left him and his brother, who was 3, in the car (This was back in the early '60's). She ran in to do an errand and came back to find my friend gone! She asked the 3 year old where he went and he made up a story about how a man came and took him. Totally made up! Well, she naturally flipped out, called police, etc. They found my friend wandering through the nearby grocery store, eating grapes. There was no man nothing. The older brother just let the younger one out of the car and he didn't want to get in trouble, so he made up the story! Today, we'd be horrified as leaving two toddlers in a car, but back then, when there weren't even seat belt laws or car seats, it wasn't a big deal.

 

My second story concerned my dd. It was at church, Wednesday night, and it was POURING rain outside. Some of the kids were going out to play in the rain and I expressly told her to stay in the building. (She was 4; it was a small church) I was in the fellowship hall when one of the preteens came to tell me dd had gone outside with the older kids in the rain. I went out looking for her, and, she wasn't there. No one had seen her. This was a small church in a neighborhood, and the thought that anyone could have just taken her overwhelmed me. People are now rushing all over the neighborhood, calling for her and people were inside the building, searching all over, calling. No answer, inside or out. I'm about to pass out and just when someone suggesting calling the police, I found her in a darkened classroom, under the tables, scared she'd be in trouble for going outside in the rain!

[Sara R]

My kids were 5, 3, and newborn. We had a lock up high on our front door so the kids couldn't sneak out. I did my exercise in the early morning so I wouldn't have to take kids along.

 

One early morning, while everyone including dh was asleep, I went out for my walk. Unbeknownst to me, the 3-year-old wasn't asleep. He followed me, far enough behind me that I had no idea he was there. He got out to the main road, where a man saw him. The man asked him if he knew where his house was. My son led him back to our house (at about 6:15 a.m.). The man knocked on the door to make sure that this really was his house, and then left him.

 

We were so grateful nothing bad happened.