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Original poster

I lost my 3 year old today

60 replies

AngelaD · 10/02/2006 22:26

In school would you believe, I was collecting the older one and she ran ahead, next thing I knew she was completely out of sight and had crossed a road (with the crossing lady), I was absolutely frantic.
I didn't handle it at all well, cried and everything god knows what the teachers must have thought.

OP posts:
Yoyo67 · 23/02/2006 05:39

I lost my nephew first time we were out alone at a mall...I was buying an ice-cream when I turned to look for him, he was gone...it took us 15 minutes to locate each other, and both of us looked like we cried a bit...all I could think was how to explain to my sis about her then only child. Thereafter my son who came along much later has a habit of wandering off and I had a few minor scares....today, I got the timing wrong and frantically called my son's bus driver why my son wasn't home...sometimes I get into this mode of losing my children and loved ones....through death, accidents, etc, and it is not funny.

Kirk1 · 23/02/2006 10:20

I have lost my dd numerous times in shops. Usually in the supermarket - it got to the stage where the security guard would watch her the entire way around, so when she wandered off I would turn around to find her being brought back....

She once wandered off when I was buying her new shoes. You know how when they're fitting shoes on children they ask them to go for a little walk - she took the instruction literally and walked out of the shop and off up the shopping centre! By the time I'd realised she wasn't coming back and got outside she was out of sight. It was lucky that someone spotted her and came looking for a frantic mother! Nowadays I impress upon her that if she can't find mummy she should look for someone in uniform. We have a 'meeting point' in any shop we go to frequently and I worry less

ellceeell · 23/02/2006 20:22

threelittlebabies - I'm glad he wasn't frightened - but I'd rather I hadn't been, either!

jmb1964 · 23/02/2006 22:15

Gosh what painful reading this makes..
I lost all four of mine once when I hopped on a train with my elderly mother, who had just broken her arm, to put her case on for her. The older two were 5 and 6 at the time and the younger two were 2 and 3 and in a double buggy, so I left them all sitting where I could see them telling them cheerfully I'd be back in a moment. But when I tried to get off the doors had been locked and I couldn't open them No announcement or anything, they later told me the train was running late so they were trying to catch up time, and I had to watch all their poor little faces crumple as they saw me being carried off down the platform. I tried to get the guard to stop the train but he wouldn't and I had to go all the way from Edinburgh to Berwick on Tweed!! People kept offering to buy me drinks..
Luckily dh was at home and leapt in the other car to go and rescue them all. DD1 had coped very well, and told one of the station staff what happened, so they were all taken into the office and plied with free goody bags until he turned up. But not an experience I would like to repeat...

missydee · 23/02/2006 22:28

Not sure I can call this lost as much as plain forgot I had him. On the first family trip out to the supermarket - me, dp, dd and 3 week old ds - I completely forgot I had a baby. It wasn't until dp (who was pushing the trolley with dd in it) asked me what I'd done with the boy that I remembered. Unfortunately I couldn't remember which aisle I'd left him on. Cue absolute panic on my behalf and frantic scurrying up and down aisles to find him. One of the managers seeing the state I was in came up and asked me if I'd lost a baby. Apparently he'd been left by the fresh meat section for 15 mins. Did I feel like a bad parent but funnily enough it was dp who got the telling off. The woman who was looking after the baby and buggy said 'I can expect it from the mother but you, you should know better!'. Needless to say the trip was cut short as I was beside myself with guilt and we shamefacedly beat a hasty retreat.

I used to leave my dog outside shops all the rime when I was kid having completly forgotten I'd taken her out. Never thought I'd do with my own child though.

AtHomeMum · 24/02/2006 10:30

Just before Christmas we lost our 8 year old skiing. She was on the mountain with Dad, sister & some friends. There was a mix up - one child fell & got sacared & DD had gone a little ahead. When no-one appeared she thougth she had missed them & carried on down. She was then noticed by a lift attendant & as she was alone was taken down the mountain by security. I was in the hotel bathing the little one when I got a call from DP that she was missing! It took half an hour for us to find her at the security office - they contacted our rep through the lift pass details, who then contacted me eventually. She was fine, but what a panic as it was getting dark! We then made sure all the children had a card with our mobile numbers on them!

themoon66 · 24/02/2006 11:12

I took both kids to see the mummies in the british museum in London. As we went down the underground everyone started to run, like they always do when a train is coming. DS aged 6 got swept along with the crowd, whilst I'm there shouting 'no rush kids, there'll be another train in a minute'. My horror was realised when I saw DS stood on train with doors closing infront of his little face!! I leapt forward and prised the doors open with the strength of 10 mad women. Got some funny looks from all the stuffy city types, and NOT ONE PERSON helped me!!! My blood runs cold even now when I think about what could have happened had the train moved off. Scary.

Oooopsy · 01/03/2006 23:14

Not quite the same thing but thought I would tell you, I'm a nanny and lived about 25 minutes away from work until I moved into the village. On a Saturday a few weeks later, I went into the supermarket that I used for work shopping. I had a few things in my arms and then went back to find my trolley and started to panic because I couldn't find it, asked loads of people "have you seens a trolly with 2 little children in" all the store staff were charging around the store looking for the children, people were running up and down the precinct and searching the car park, took me 20 minutes to realise that it was Saturday and I didn't have the children with me, I'm ashamed to say that I slunk out of the supermarket without saying anything!! Never went back funnily enough.

Serendippity · 01/03/2006 23:22

ooospy i'm about tp log off but couldn't without responding to your post. That is hillarious, i have tears Grin

nightowl · 02/03/2006 00:10

i lost my ds in a fairground when he was 3. he was with my partner, partner walked over to me in the arcade and back off again with ds. partner didnt realise ds was still following him and came back over shortly afterwards. i asked where ds was, he thought ds was with me. i was hysterical, my life flashed before my eyes. i can only remember thinking "this is it, its such a big place, he could be anywhere by now". i ran around outside like a headless chicken, screaming ds's name. if i had actually thought it out i would have realised ds wouldnt go far. we found him just behind where my partner had been standing, sat on a sega rally type machine!! not a nice experience at all.

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