The mother who was in the parking lot of their home talking to a friend, had no idea that her son had wandered out in the cold in his pajamas. The Detroit police got a call from the staff at the gas station who gave the boy some snack, while a customer got a blanket for him, according to this report.
The video shows the tot walk up to the gas station, open the door with some difficulty and look around for his mother.
Luckily for the boy, he hadn’t wandered off too far from his home as the gas station was right in the vicinity. As the cops took him with them to see whether he could identify where he stays, his mother saw him and came running.
“His mother ended up running up to the gas station and he was like, ‘That’s my mother, right there,” said Officer Tinisha Alexander from Detroit police, according to this report. Although this story had a happy ending, not all lost children are lucky enough to be reunited with their parents. It's better to be extra-cautious with tiny tots who have an adventurous streak in them.
Continue reading to ensure your child's safety in public places.
Considering that I’ve always encouraged my eight-year-old's curiosity by letting her explore the world around, I have been at the receiving end of a couple of fake alarms (and am I glad that they were fake!), when I thought I had lost my baby. While the last time she tried ‘finding out the right sweater for mommy’, was when she was four, in a mall and out of sight.
Luckily for me, she looked a little less grown-up to be walking around with some over-sized cardigans which got the attention of a well-meaning staff who took her to the service desk and announced about this precocious 'lost' child. To date, my daughter recalls that incident with glee when "mumma was lost".
So, do you have an adventurous child to deal with? Here’s how you can ensure his safety, even in crowded places like malls, amusement parks or fairs:
- Does he know your phone numbers?: For children over 3, making them learn your phone number, address (and name, but of course!) helps. However, for babies who have started walking around, but are too young to learn numbers by rote, when stepping out in a crowded place, tuck in a piece of paper with your name, address and phone number, and place it in his pocket or better, pin it to his shirt.
- Hold hands: Yes. As simple as it sounds, it’s a task getting children to hold hands while walking on the roads or any public place. But if they can’t walk holding hands, they may as well stay at home. This is what I tell my daughter, who feels she is too grown-up to hold mommy’s hand while crossing the road. Well, the other option she has is to skip the park and stay at home.
- Stranger-danger: It doesn’t matter how modern one becomes, stranger-danger is still the best, most-often quoted term to young children. My mom would tell me about it and now I use this with my daughter. Also, tell them that if they are in trouble and both, mommy and daddy aren’t around, they finda a mom with a child and ask her for help.
While I don't always propagate 'look-for-the-worst-case-scenario-and-skip-smelling-the-roses', when it comes to my child's safety, I feel, one needs to be amply wary.
Also read: This cop went door-to-door to help lost boy find his home.
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