Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

My son found a toddler

410 replies

HerRoyalRisesAgain · 08/08/2021 19:24

My 12 year old son went out with his friends around 4.30.

He came home at 6.10, carrying a toddler in just his nappy, already on the phone to the police!
He'd found him wandering around our estate by himself in just a nappy (it's windy and rainy here) He tried to ask him where his mummy or daddy were but the toddler has just grabbed him and clung to his leg, so he's pulled out his phone, dialled 999 then picked up said toddler and brought him home so that he had somewhere warm to wait for the police.

I got a blanket for the little one, and got him warmed up. He was very scared bless him, but receptive to having a cuddle and letting us help him have some water. (My youngest is 6, so no sippy cups)

Police turned up just now with social services and took him with them. Theyre going to try and find his parents and take care of him, have him checked over etc.

The police and the social worker massively praised my son and said he was immensely brave and sensible to do what he did.
He took the officer out and showed him exactly where he had found the toddler and gave as much info as he could about what happened when he found him.

I hope the little one is OK, and glad he's safe with social services now.

I am also immensely proud of my son. He's so amazing. I would have panicked at that age and knocked on the nearest door for help.
Hes just jumped into action straight away and decided to get him warm and safe.

OP posts:
Original poster
HerRoyalRisesAgain · 09/08/2021 08:31

Of course I must be making this up because this never happens despite pages and pages of others either losing or finding a toddler. Hmm
Toddlers are escape artists with no sense of safety.
No I don't live in Liverpool or St Helens and I don't read the Liverpool echo (why would i?) so only read about that incident when it was posted here.
If you think I have made this up feel free to report me.

OP posts:
Billybagpuss · 09/08/2021 08:37

I must admit I am hoping the mum turns up on your doorstep with a lovely gaming voucher for your ds, I know I would in that situation.

Peregrina · 09/08/2021 08:38

For those casting doubt on what the OP has posted, may I suggest that they shut up. As a grandparent now, I have read this as a salutary warning of the need to be vigilant when looking after the grandchildren.

labazslovesliving · 09/08/2021 09:19

well done to your son you have raised him well I hope things are sorted re the toddler and it is just the usual case of a wandering youngster

SmugglersHaunt · 09/08/2021 09:28

The poor toddler! But what a great son you have x

WalkersAreNotTheOnlyCrisps · 09/08/2021 09:30

Weird people think it’s made up 😳
A few years ago my then 3 year old non verbal autistic son got out of our garden, and got pretty far away too. His dad flagged a passing police car down as I ran around the street, absolutely frantic (we live near a dual carriageway and a canal). He was found by one of my neighbours, thankfully, at the same time the police arrived (who then made a cursory check of my son’s bed and to see if my fridge was stocked up 😬).

Well done to your son OP ❤️

AngelsWithSilverWings · 09/08/2021 09:41

Well done to your son - hope the little one will be ok.

My DD was found by a couple of teenagers in Bluewater shopping centre when she was almost three.

She had run away on purpose because she wanted to sneak off to eat the chocolates that we had bought. She had asked to carry the bag and we let her but as soon as she could she wandered off with it.

We were in John Lewis and it was a one second she was there and the next she wasn't situation. The management closed the shutters and locked down the shop while security did a search. She was found by two lovely young girls after making it half way to the other end of the shopping mall. They noticed she was alone and approached her to ask where her mum was. We got the message 15 mins later that she had been found. Longest 15 mins of my life. So grateful to those girls.

She was extremely proud of herself and said "I did in on my own mummy"

DS at the same age managed to get out of the house by dragging a chair across the kitchen to climb up to get the back door keys and the car key off of the hook. He then opened the side gate, unlocked the car and proceeded to try to start it. This was while the rest of us were still asleep in bed. Luckily I woke up when I heard the car unlocking and rushed out thinking it was being stolen. He told me he wanted to drive the car. He's been obsessed with cars since he was about 10 months old and still is at 15.

All these little Houdinis!

MuddyStiletto · 09/08/2021 09:48

Wow , your son sounds very level headed , what a credit to you

Galassia · 09/08/2021 09:48

Circa late 90s I found a young girl of around 4 walking along the top of the cliffs at Southend cliff gardens and she was very solemn and I got her to walk with me and my young children until we came to a children’s nursery and I took her in there and they phoned the police.

Her family had already called the police and were down on the sea front frantically trying to find her.

She had taken a stroll by herself to the top!

Killahangilion · 09/08/2021 09:52

@Bingbongbash

Knocking on nearby doors as you think you would have done as a 12 year old would have been a better idea than bringing him home!
Pure Bollocks.

If the parents were high on drugs and took the child back, no-one would be any the wiser and that poor child has to endure more shit parenting.

The OP’s 12yr old absolutely did the right thing. He’s a superstar!

I also doubt my 12yr old DS would have paid any attention to a wandering toddler, let alone have the presence of mind to call the Police and take him home.

Emmelina · 09/08/2021 09:57

What often happens is you don’t realise your small child can reach the front door catch until they’ve reached the front door catch, which was the case with the little lad I found. They’re also very good at climbing!

Bythemillpond · 09/08/2021 09:58

I think it is quite common. I think the type of child who is determined to get out is usually a child who is completely exhausting to look after and parents think their dc is playing in the same room as them and they drift off to sleep on the sofa or think their child is in bed only for the child to see an opportunity to head for the door.

The child I found, his poor mum was beside herself as he had opened all the bolts on the door. It was a small old cottage so the door wasn’t as big as normal doors but with the chair he could reach the one they had put on the top.
It looked like Fort Knox the amount of bolts and chains they had on the door

EleanorOlephantisjustfine · 09/08/2021 09:59

@accentdusoleil

I can't imagine how stressed and distraught the parents must be

Well done to your son! Saved a life

Clearly not that stressed and distraught to not notice the child missing in the first place.

OP what a fantastic young man your son is.

Newestname001 · 09/08/2021 10:04

@HerRoyalRisesAgain

👏🏻 👏🏻 🥇 for your lovely resourceful son, OP! 🌹

Newestname001 · 09/08/2021 10:28

I've read OP's posts but not all responses so a PP may have said this but - for those toddlers who are outside with their parents already, are you still able to purchase reins which are secured round the child's waist and the adult holds the reins part? Or the newer versions which are in the form of a backpack worn by the child - which may be considered more acceptable, perhaps?

As for the little Houdini's escaping from their homes I've no suggestions there - bless their poor parents though who have such imaginative and adventurous children but oh the stress! 🌹

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 09/08/2021 10:32

@Newestname001

yes, both are still available.
LittleLife backpacks are what we bought for some of ours.

luckily mine never tried to escape from home but DS2 did manage to get out of his cot while still wearing his Grobag sleeping bag before he was 18m (he was and still is very tall, strong and bloody minded) and I was astonished.

Original poster
HerRoyalRisesAgain · 09/08/2021 10:33

for those toddlers who are outside with their parents already, are you still able to purchase reins which are secured round the child's waist and the adult holds the reins part?
Yes, they're still available. I used to call it the lead so I'd tell my toddlers to go get their lead Grin

OP posts:
bongbigboobingbongbing · 09/08/2021 10:35

Is there any update today OP? Did they track down the parents?

Aprilinspringtimeshower · 09/08/2021 10:35

I have a horror story of how this can happen. My DS was about 3 years old. Gone to bed as normal. We (DH) and I were watching tv in lounge after dinner, and there was an odd noise and bang on front door.
I went to open it, and my DS was outside in his Pjs. it was dark, cold and he was shivering.
I have no idea to this day why he went out, how long he’d been out, whether he was just stood by the door or went down the roads. The whole thing terrified me, confused me and was very distressing. All the catastrophising that went through our head. We never heard him go out, so my worst suspicion is that he had gone out whilst we were having dinner/cooking about an hour before. He’d never had sleep issues such as sleep walking, and always slept well- so absolutely no idea why he would have tried to go out to this day. He is 27 now and can’t recall anything about it.
The door was on a latch fairly high up, but clearly not high enough. We bought a bolt and fastened it to top of door. I still have nightmares about it from time to time, my little DS wandering around in dark and not being able to get back into the house- it’s horrible.

pinkgin85 · 09/08/2021 10:36

How scary, but well done to your son!

My 18 month old is always looking for an exit out, doesn't matter where we are if he sees a door he has to go towards it so he's always in his pram or being carried. They're so sneaky!

Aprilinspringtimeshower · 09/08/2021 10:38

When I say a latch, it was Yale lock and the lock device was pushed down. He undid that and turned the knob to open hte lock- I wouldn’t have thought a 3 year old could do that. They can😱

sashh · 09/08/2021 10:42

I too have found a toddler. It was near a small shopping arcade in a housing estate. So I was crouched down asking her where mummy or daddy was.

A young man came over and tried Punjabi, we sere just deciding whether to call the police or go into the shops when someone walked out of the chip shop, called over to her and she went running, he didn't even acknowledge us.

Me and the other 'rescuer' just looked at each other and then had a short discussion about why a parent wouldn't be bothered by their child being talked to by complete strangers.

I had another instance of, not exactly finding a toddler, I was in my back yard and heard a voice (terraced house) my next door neighbour's toddler had managed to open his bedroom window and was standing on the window sill to have a chat.

I didn't want to leave him to knock on the neighbour's door but he was determined he wasn't going back into his bedroom.

Fortunately dad heard us and got him inside.

Toddlers are evil geniuses when it comes to getting in trouble, getting out of places, into places or finding dangerous things to play with.

There was a TV show a few years ago, I think is was Blackpool police and they had a report of a toddler walking down the street.

It seems to be incredibly common.

Original poster
HerRoyalRisesAgain · 09/08/2021 10:46

Toddlers are evil geniuses when it comes to getting in trouble, getting out of places, into places or finding dangerous things to play with.

They really are. Their curiosity about the world and their lack of awareness of what's safe and what's not is clearly a recipe for disaster!

OP posts:
Steakandcheeseplease · 09/08/2021 10:49

Well done to your son OP.

I imagine this happens a lot.

I found a toddler on the way to work when I was about 18. I called the police but stayed in the spot I found her. The mother turned up at the same time as the police and she was in bits. My employers didnt believe the reason why I was late!

I jumped in a pool in Butlins to get a doll from the bottom of the pool ( I was around ten) only it wasn't a doll it was a toddler that had escaped their parents in the indoor pool and fell in to the out door pool. The lifeguard was actually stood on a bridge over the spot I pulled the toddler out. I only realised it was a child when we broke the surface! This experience actually started me on the path to becoming a lifeguard and swimming coach.

My friend is a long term foster parent for a little girl who was found wandering the street in the early ours at three years old

So it absolutely does happen

yikesanotherbooboo · 09/08/2021 10:55

I found one once; walking around in pyjamas. No sign of parents. I had just left a Salvation Army toddlers group so took them there in the hope that he would be recognised and called the police.
One of my toddlers took advantage of me dealing with the baby and let herself into a neighbour's house via garden gate and kitchen door . She was discovered sometime later in their play room, she had gone to play with the toy kitchen!
She was rescued on a number of occasions, my other DC would scream the place down if I was out of their eyeline.