Have you been seperated from your child in a public place for more than 10 minutes and what did you do?

[Happybrewer]

I'm sure it's happen to us all at some point, even if we imagined it.
I (a few years ago took my eldest daughter (she was little then 4 1/2) to the Lady Diana playground in Hyde park, for those of you who don't know it, it's a great! if not very busy playground. It has only 1 way in and out usually with an attendant at the gate.
Star, was starting to want minor independence and asked if she could go off and play alone. I agreed and sat near the gate with other parents.

We had done this before and she would usually come back every 5/10 minutes of so to tell me what fun she was having, or to ask me to join in. O this occasion 20 minutes passed and my fear levels started to rise.
I asked a mum sitting next to me to keep an eye out for a small blonde girl, looking for her dad, and to say I'd be back after my search.
I went all around the park and couldn't find her, on return to my waiting spot the other mum said she hadn't seen her !!!! now I'm panicking, I go to the attendant, she assures me that no children had left alone, so I asked the mum to continue to keep watch while I ran madly around the play park calling her name and asking every other parent if the had seen her, to no avail.
I think I was very close to calling the police, and then she appeared from the Pirate ship where she had been playing with other children deep within it's bowls. possibly the one place I hadn't searched.
So how long before you call the police?
I have friends who have lost a child on a beach for 3/4 of an hour and hadn't called the police, I said I would have done it

yes, twice with DD (little bugger!) last year at a theme park in summer holidays, was with a friend and her kids, DD is very close to friends eldest daughter, who had gone off to do an older kids ride. DD (only just 4 at this time) was with me and 3 other younger kids, I was getting them on the spinning teacups, had my back turned for about a second and she vanished. I grabbed a staff member, explained problem, she radioed everyone within several hundred metres, and we eventually found her 15 minutes later near the picnic area about 500 yards from where I last saw her. She had gone looking for her friend.
Second time was at disneyland paris, total chaos as parade had just ended and crowds were milling around. She was there one minute and gone the next. I spent 20 minutes running around like a headless chicken and we eventually found with the pushchair where she had gone to get a drink. I think I aged 10 years in as many minutes.
I do take my eyes off kids when they are playing in an enclosed space, but make sure I see them at least every 5 minutes or I go looking for them. I dont take my eyes off them full stop on the beach, much too risky!

*thisisyesterday8, I've also told my DDs to approach someone with children if they're lost and can't see a member of staff/policeman. My reasoning (as parroted back to me by DD1) is that hopefully another parent will understand how frantic I am, and will get the child back to me asap!

Reading it back, I'm also probably a bit patronising to suggest that a non-parent wouldn't understand, I suppose - my DBro has no children but would understand (and is also very wary of approaching an unattended child in case he's seen as predatory).

I found a little boy of about 3 wandering about at Thorpe Park once. I watched him for a while to see if he was really alone and then I asked him if he was lost (he said yes) and I took him to a member of staff. All in all I was standing with him for about 15mins when he pointed to a group of people sauntering along, one was his mother. She was completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't in the pushchair she was pushing.. really bizarre.

My DH lost my DS (5) for about 15 mins recently. They were at the park with a scooter and a bike and DD had an 'accident'. DH asked DS would he like to come to the car to get DS changed or wait with the bike

DS of course said "I'll wait with the bike"... only when DH got back the bike was there but DS was not!

He completely freaked out - running up and down the park shouting his name and asking if anyone had seen him. He was on the verge of calling the police when a lady brought him over who had seen him fall off his bike and he went with her to get a plaster.

Lesson learnt - don't give a 5 year old a choice and don't leave them on their own for a second!

I didn't give DH a hard time (I think the shock was enough!) but I thought it best to try and explain to DS once again that he shouldn't go off with strangers under any circumstances.

That's a good idea !!!!www.mumsnet.com/te/1.gif

I lost my dad in BHS more than 40 years ago. I can still remember reaching up at a man in a long overcoat and finding it wasn't him. One of my few early memories.

On an only tangentially related tack, is anyone else disturbed by the fact that Leon belfield had two car seats in the back of his car - one for a girl, one for a boy.

I don't think it's just men who have to watch out for helping lost children nowadays, anyone can get accused of snatching them.

When I was on teaching practice I was on my way home and saw a little girl of no more than 3 wandering along the main road alone with nobody else in sight. I asked her where she lived and she pointed back into the estate I'd just turned out of. I asked her where mummy was and she said house. I aske dher if she was out with anyone and she said no. So I felt like I had no choice but to walk her home (luckily she knew where she was and it was only 100 yards or so down the road). I found the mum and she glared at me and said 'why are you touching my kid?' I walked off pretty quickly.

Then a couple of years ago I came across another little girl of about 2 trying to push her way out of the doors of the tate modern. This time the only response I got to 'where's Mummy?' was 'Gone!' I'd learned my lesson by this time so I just moved her away from the doors and sat down next to her on the stairs until her harrassed looking mother appeared a couple of minutes later. I still only got a dirty look as the child was jerked away from me.

Maybe I have a naturally suspicious air about me!

Who is Leon Belfield?

and no, not made it beyond 3 mins with her lost - that was in TRU

Gosh I feel sick just thinking about it! I remember when I was about 5 my family took a trip to the beach. When it was time to leave I stopped to shake the sand out of my shoes. My family were sat on the beach waiting for me but I assumed they had gone to the car park and headed in the direction I thought it was and ended up in a big forest park beside the beach. I can remember realizing I was lost and started shouting "Mummy Daddy" when that didn't work I started calling out their real names which didn't work either.

After about 10 mins of this a family came up to me and the mother asked where my parents where. I was a gibbering mess and just kept saying I was lost. These stupid people offered to DRIVE HE HOME! As if my parents just went and left me! Luckily I had the sense to say NO my parents would NEVER leave without me. So they took me back to the beach where I was greeted by 4 park wardens 3 other families and my mother looking deranged she was just standing there screaming my name. She said it was the worst day of her life and we didn't go back to that beach for years!

I have to say that the advice we give to the kids is if you can't see/find us stay still and call loudly, we will find you and if an adult comes to help don't go with them looking stay in the same spot, and we will always find you, it's getting less of a total fear nor that DD 2 (I think that's darling daughter second one?...I'm new) is 7 on Thursday and a bit better at not wandering off. Star, who I couldn't find is 16 this year and tries to make sure I can't find her!, funny how it all changes so so fast

The only time I lost the eldest was for at least 3/4 hour and I was at the point of phoning the police.... it was at a shopping arcade, he ran out of the shop and by the time I'd detangled my youngest's buggy from the racks and got outside he was nowhere to be seen. I've never been so scared. I did a lap of the arcade shouting like a mad woman in an absolute panic (circular shopping arcade) and then tried the more logical approach of going into a store and asking them to put a call out to security and other stores.

When I 'found' him, he was sat with security eating chocolate buttons and grinning from ear to ear at his wonderful adventure that gave a chocolate reward! Grr. Aparantly the security guard had had to chase him in and out of different shops because he thought it was all marvelous fun.... it was totally out of character for him, he's always been a bit freaked out with crowds, so I'd probably not been as vigilant as I should have been.

Any longer and I'd have phoned the police, but to be honest in that time I was sprinting in and out of shops and grabbing random passers by and didn't pause long enough to think 'police', I also received some fantastic help from various stores.

BTW even if we are worried about getting bad looks or reactions from other even the not so eye on the ball parent's we have a moral and civic parental duty to go to the aid of a crying or scared child.

i got lost in bognor butlins over 37 years ago!! i have vague memories of being in a supermarket and saying id lost my mummy!! lost ds for 5 mins in soft play, hed gone to the toilet and got stuck in there, he also when we go out wants to go in the mens to wee so i spend alot of time hovering outside mens toilets like george micheal!!

I lost DS once in a store in Dublin. A woman heard me calling and said she had see a little boy looking a bit worried "over there". Thankfully he was still 'over there' and calling for me. It was only a minute or two but felt much longer.

As a child I was out with my parents and got lost in a supermarket we never usually went to in the center of Dublin. I went off wandering around the aisles looking for them and found my nana. Who we were not with! She was very surprised to see me!

Lost dd2 (age 6) in a theme park last year when she went the wrong way despite knowing her way well. Security asked all children leaving the park to show both hands before they let them leave as her distingishing feature is she was born missing a hand.
She was found very shortly after security had put the call out for her, having found she'd gone the wrong way she just stopped where she was and waited.

I couldn;'t find dd in the Diana playground last year but thats sort of the point of that playground - the children can hide andexplore and stuff but you know they can't get out.

On a piblic beack I would panic after 5 mins, in that playground Iwould give it up to half an hour - after all when they are having fun they lse all sense of time.

Sil lost dneice at the theatre once (chldren's show) she had seen her friend across the stalls as everyone was leaving and dashed across. I went to find a steward whilst sil made for the entrance.

In fact my Dad lost ds on Saturday at Wembley (or rather one of the clubs/pubs outside Wembley. His mates who were with him dashed for the entrance whilst my Dad and a couple of others looked for him. He had gone across to my mum.

I lost DS2 when he was 2 at a farm. It had a huge field with loads of play bits, wooden and sandpits etc and I couldnt find him anywhere. He literally ran past a friend and then disappeared.

I went straight up to a ranger and put his description out on the radios so the whole place was looking for him. Only they were looking for a kid in a red checked jumper - and the little git darling and taken it off!!

We found him down over a hill after about 10 minutes, maybe 15. I was panicking something chronic though.

*had not and!

DS is too small at the moment to wander anywhere, but once when I was looking after my (then) 4yo and 6mo nephews, the elder climbed back aboard a train we'd just got off and the electric doors started to close. The only thing I could get a purchase on was his hair and I ended up yanking him head-first back through the doors before they shut and it sped away to God knows where. He howled like a banshee and hated me for the rest of the day. Most frightening moment of my life!

I lost both my children at a National Trust hall. We were in the playground, husband and I sat down while children were playing on a climbing thing nearby. (They were 5 and 4 at the time). Looked round a few minutes later and they had gone. I thought they were, as OP said, inside the climbing thingy - but no. They'd wandered off.

We searched around the playground, which was surrounded by trees. Couldn't find them. After about 10 minutes were heading off towards the main hall when we saw National Trust lady coming in the other direction, looking for us.

Bigger boy, when he'd realised they'd wandered too far and got lost, had gone up to member of staff and explained. I found them both in the shop, drinking juice and talking the ear off one of the nice ladies.

I wasn't too concerned, as they were together. This may be silly of me, not sure how losing two is better than losing one! Possibly more careless, even.

This is heartening because my mother is always accusing me of being overprotective as I am careful not to lose sight of ds (4)
I did take him to a museum yesteday, and as he was playing in the kids area I told him I was just going to have a look at something round the other side of the room and said "come and find me there if you need me". Which he did in a few minutes.
I feel like you have to take a calculated risk and do these things in increments, although the thought of losing him gives me heart palpitations.
I am astounded at the number of people I see in busy clothes shops looking at clothes while their tiny kids wander about not in their eyeshot.
It's why I can't go in Primark anymore, since I will march up to them will said toddler and go "is this yours?"

I havent many lost stories of my own to tell but I seem to attract 'lost' children , have found 3 cying kids in the playground/outside school and taken them back to teacher/found parents and several more in other places.....I hope it is because I look approachable

I do feel awful that I found a girl and told her it was ok we would find her mum and that she didnt need to cry, all jolly and upbeat, she held my hand and seemed ok but when we did find her mum she went into absolute hysterics and even her mum could get her to stop clinging to her neck and sobbing. I was really worried that I had scared her into not crying.

Leon Bellfield is on trial for the murder of Milly Dowler and the attempted abduction of another young woman. He is also the father of two children.

I lost my 2.5 yr old in a bowling alley for about 5 minutes, but it honestly felt like ten times that long. It was one of those proper 'turned around for 10 seconds and she was gone' things. I am always so careful verging on paranoid with my kids, but this time I literally turned away from her to answer another childs question and when I turned back she was nowhere to be seen.

Me and another mum (it was a kid's birthday party for my older child) went frantically searching for her and we soon found her playing happily with a vending machine (!?), but those few minutes were sickening. The bowling alley was huge, packed and noisy and backs on to a busy car park leading to a motorway . I cannot imagine going 20 minutes without seeing my children, even my older one (6). I would have raised the alarm by then, definitely (I am not saying I am right and you are wrong, btw, OP, I just know what my own instincts tell me in these situations).

I do the same as Aliens . Dress my kids in total day glow colours whenever we go anywhere busy and it does help keep them in sight. DS2 is very friendly and chatty and is deaf so we have to be able to see each other in public places or it would be pretty impossible to find each other again.