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Original poster

PLEASE be careful

90 replies

nailpolish · 15/12/2004 10:40

i recently heard this story and it really made me think twice.

dont know if its true, never saw it in the papers or anything.

a mother in lanarkshire lives with her dad and her toddler. the mum went shopping and so her dad was looking after the 2 year old. the dad said to toddler 'grandads going upstairs for a shower i wont be long' and he did. when he came down there was no sign of the toddler, he looked out the window and a man was running down the street with toddler under his arm. he managed to stop them and called the police.

turned out the man who had snatched the child was a convicted paedophile who had chanced by the house and seen the toddler in the house on her own and just walked in and picked her up.

i now lock my door at all times and its really frightened me. its sad though cos i used to leave the door unlocked so friends and family could just come in and out.

OP posts:
Hulababy · 15/12/2004 17:36

I always lock doors anyway when I am in the house. Walk in thefts have been reported in the county on so many occasions anyway, looking especially for car keys.

When I have a shower I bring DD (2y 8m) into my bedroom - we have an ensuite shower - and she watches CBeebies whilst sat on my bed.

Qhen she was tiny I have been known to have a shpwer with her in her cot in a room nearby, sat in her bouncer chair int he bathroom, and even whilst she is in the bath too. I put her in her bath chair (when able to sit up uaaided) and shpwered at opposite end.

whitepixmas · 15/12/2004 17:42

By the way, I didn't say anything about paedophiles! you are putting words into my mouth. People do take children for other reasons you know. Seems it's not just the media that is obsessed.

Not trying to get in an argument because I do agree that these things are rare and we can't spend our lives worrying about them. It's just that on that occasion it was a bit too close for comfort.

FlashingRudolphNose · 15/12/2004 17:42

The sad and frightening thing for me is that my Dad, aged 78, no longer speaks to any children apart from his grandchildren, lest it be misinterpreted . If there's no community of people looking out for our children when they're out and about, things are in a sorry state.

My friend had gone swimming with her dh and their children in a public swimming pool. Her dh noticed a small child in difficulties, so leapt in and hoisted the child to safety. The mum ran over, screamed at friend's dh and snatched her child away, acusing him, basically, of being a filthy pervert. So what does he do if there's a similar situation again?

TinselTamum · 15/12/2004 17:48

whitepixmas, I guess people are mentioning paedophiles because that was what the thread was about originally (see nailpolish's first post) rather than because we are unhealthily obsessed.

whitepixmas · 15/12/2004 17:53

Flashingrudolphnose, that woman is not doing her children any favours is she, behaving like that in front of them? I certainly would not want my children to think that they can't strike up a conversation with a friendly old man. I would not even like to think of them knowing what a 'filthy pervert' is!

I know they have to be aware about keeping themselves safe as they get older, but atm they are young enough that they will not be put in the position to have to do so iykwim. As far as I am concerned I am always with them, and anyone who wants to talk to them is considered innocent until proven guilty. If they were obviously creepy I would intervene but not screaming abuse!

FlashingRudolphNose · 15/12/2004 17:55

Sorry, that was unclear - friend and her dh are in their 30's.

whitepixmas · 15/12/2004 17:57

Whoops sorry, just realised I got your dad mixed up with the swimming pool incident!But you get my drift!

FlashingRudolphNose · 15/12/2004 20:39

Interested in other viewpoints on this.

Original poster
nailpolish · 15/12/2004 21:48

whitepixmas, how awful for you. sounds like a terrible nightmare, you poor thing.

after hearing that story, (original post) i have now decided to lock my back door. it makes me very sad, but im sure ill get over it. i dont think these days there are more paedophiles or child abuse, i just think people these days are braver to come forward, its not hush hush like it used to be kept, even just a few years ago.

if a friendly looking gent came up to my dd's in the swimming pool, i would be very happy for them to chat. i think its nice. i think children have a very good instinct as to who is nice and who is not, dd will cower from anyone who she thinks is strange. she wouldnt speak to anyone if i wasnt there any way as i always am.

it was nice to hear other viewpoints, this is obviously a topic we feel strongly about, and whether it was an urban myth or not, it has made m e think twice

OP posts:
tallulah · 15/12/2004 21:53

A colleague at work has someone walk in her back door and steal her handbag when she was in the next room watching TV I would think it unlikely someone would wander in & steal a child but there are a lot of opportunist thieves around who will nip in & pinch bags or money or whatever, even while you are in the house. Even the thought of it is terrifying.

Re front doors, we had a new upvc one in our last house that you had to actually lock by pulling up the handle, so that anyone could just walk in if you didn't. At home my parents had this ball thing on the door so it was always on the latch when someone was home. It was handy then, but I got fed up with FIL wandering in without knocking!

galaxy · 15/12/2004 21:59

About 15 years ago, when my mum was widowed and living with ds at home, he was out late and she left the back door unlocked. She woke up to furious knocking on the door about 2.00am, and was confronted by some bloke demanding drugs. He was off his head and became quite nasty until my brother walked in and told him he needed number 455 not 462.

Then when mum remarried, they were sitting in their lounge and whilst watching TV, some bastard walked through their house and stole her dh's wallet and camera. They'd left the back door unlocked until they went to bed.

2 years ago, when we moved into our house, I had the patio doors open and had nippedupstair to get a magazine and came down to find a man in my dining room. As it turned, out, he had the wrong house and was waiting patiently for next door to alow him to quote for their double galzing.

You can't be too careful IMO

galaxy · 15/12/2004 22:03

That's mum's ds not mine

InDulciJulieF · 15/12/2004 23:03

I'm terrible for not locking our front door. We live in a new house and it doesn't have a yale lock. It has a handle and you have to turn the key in the lock to lock the door. I have also often left the house and forgotten to lock the door.

Our old house had a yale lock that meant it locked automatically when you closed the door and you needed a key to get back in.

Carla · 15/12/2004 23:08

Can I ask you what you think of this? Very often, I take my ever-so-now shopping trolley, fiil it with stuff, and it's much easier to take it to the back door (by the kitchen) than through the house. So, I open the back door, rather than the front. And leave keys in back door. DH came home tonight tut tutting about this. Haven't read most of this, but do you think he's a tut-tutter or has a point. Really annoyed me the way he took my keys out of the door and just shook his head in a 'you foolish woman' kind of way

SenoraPostrophe · 15/12/2004 23:33

I've read the thread and I think most people would say he has a point.

I think he's a tut-tutter though.

I would leave my front door open if it wasn't a yale.

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