Child Wandering Alone...
@ladymoonstone143 (1507)
United States
March 31, 2007 1:46am CST
I took our dog out with my daughter earlier this afternoon. The moment I opened the door, I saw a child crossing the driveway from another block coming to ours. I was rooted on the spot because I know so many cars just come speeding on the driveway because it is near the entrance of apartment complex. I hastily returned my dog inside and told my daughter to stay put and grab the child. I was just in time because two cars were coming up. I know the child and he lives near the apartment playground and it is on the opposite side of the complex. I was waiting for somebody to come looking for him. He was just over a year old. A minute or two and nobody was there. So, I suspected that either his brother or sister lost track of him in the playground. He was just smiling at me and my daughter, probably because he see us all the time at the playground.
I was mortified and at the same time, guessing that his parents or siblings must be looking for him but he had gone far from his home. I was just thankful that he didn't venture farther because the exit gate was open and he could have gotten out of the complex. So, I scooped him up and hold my daughters hand and went to the direction of the playground.
After several minutes of walking thru several apartment blocks, I heard voices calling out a name so I knew that they must be looking for him. I saw the sister first so I called her up and told her I got her brother. And then the father came and he said that he knows how to open the front door and in a split second he was just gone.
I can just understand how they felt coz that is my greatest fear...my child dashing out the door and into a passing car or just wandering out alone. You just don't know what will happen nowadays with so many perverts running loose.
I just feel like sharing this with you all because when I think about it, I was like, what if nobody was there to see that child and cars are coming at him. A driver can easily missed a little child like that. Then I thanks God because probably, I was just in the right place at the right time. It was the time of the day where not many venture out coz it was still hot outside. I am just crossing my fingers that in the future, I will not be in the shoes of the child parent's desperately searching for him. That really is my greatest fear.
2 people like this
5 responses
@CaroleeKaufold (1853)
• United States
31 Mar 07
Thank God you saw the boy! You were in the right place at the right time. My youngest opened the door and took off at 3 years old, a neighbor saw him and brought him home. I never even realized he was missing. It happend so fast
2 people like this
@ladymoonstone143 (1507)
• United States
31 Mar 07
Yeah, that is what I was thinking too. Right time at a right place. Good thing I am familiar with the child and his siblings saw me or my daughter all the time or else I would panic too coz you just don't know these days, you are trying to do a good deed but if people doesn't know you and you are around their kids, I don't want them arriving at any bad conclusion. Thanks...
1 person likes this
@BinKsBaBy (505)
• United States
27 Aug 07
wow good thing you were there, you saved his family a great amount of greif and possibily even his life! =) When you said good thing you somewhat knew his family reminded me of a time around Christmas when my daughter was 2, we were at the mall and of course it was PACKED!! I was walking with my daughter holding her hand and coming towards us was one of the things I see so often that really bothers me a mother walking alone while her little daughter was so far behind her I didnt see her til after I had passed the mom! The little girl seem my daughter and said hi and grabed my daughters hand and turned around(as to come with us) So I quickly turned around and started to walk in the womans direction (as fast as i could with two kids around 2 years old in a PACKED MALL) well I could no longer see the woman so I was yelling excuse me is this your daughter , in hopes that she would hear me and realize she didnt know where her kid was, but nope it didnt work! Finally someone said are you looking for the lady in the black shirt with the stroller she went into that store. So we rushed in and the lady was already at the door. She stoped and roughly snached her daughter by the arm and said to her why in the "f word" you walk so slow? She looked at me with a dirty look and she didnt say anything to me . I felt so bad for the little girl! If I have my hads full and cant hold my daughters hand ill make her walk in front of me so I can see her. Or in a crowded place like the mall at xmas I tell her to hold on to me, she normally picks my belt loop and says shes taking me for a walk LOL thats fine with me as long as i know where she is! I HATE when i see parents walking even a few feet infront of their young kids you cant see behind you and in a second your child could be gone or even heading in the oppisite direction!
@silvermoonmyst (943)
• United States
31 Mar 07
That is terribly frightning! If i were the parents i would be putting a latch lock on the door out of the childs reach and it would ALWAYS be locked. Or a gate across it. My son was big on escaping when he was a year old and i always had a gate up so he couldent get outside as well as instaling a latch lock that he couldent reach.
It has ot be the most terrifying moment ot realize your child is gone. I only hope that it never happens to anyone.
2 people like this
@ladymoonstone143 (1507)
• United States
31 Mar 07
I think they live on the first floor and the siblings just keep going in and out coz I usually see the older sister playing with friends. So I don't think they had a latch on the door. They should just put him in a room with a gate on it. Thanks for the comment...
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
31 Mar 07
It scares me the way parents and relatives let young children just wander...especially in the malls. I know there is no "trafic" in the traditional sense, in the mall, but there are plenty of people, and if the child gets underfoot, he or she could hurt someone, or get hurt him or herself. I've often almost tripped over children.
1 person likes this
@ladymoonstone143 (1507)
• United States
31 Mar 07
You are right on this one, especially where they have that little play area in the mall. It seems that nobody is keeping an eye on them...probably the parent will tell these children to go play while I see something at a shop infront of the playground...which is definitely wrong. No matter how old are they, in public places, you have to keep an eye on them. Thanks for the comment...
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
26 Aug 07
When my sister and I were little, if we would learn how to open a door, my mother, or someone who watched us at all times, would fix it so we would not be able to open the door again. We were constantly watched, and the house was childproofed based on what we could do. If we proved we could do something under supervision, that would be the guide our parents used when childproofing the house.
1 person likes this
