Would you stop?

fierystormcloud

Alikay wrote: »

Of course I'd stop and help - we all have a duty to keep children safe. If I was with DH, I'd stay with the child and send him to get help from security or centre management; if I was alone I'd stop someone else and send them to get help while I stayed with the child and reassured them.

It's not particularly difficult to find a way of helping the child without incriminating yourself.

Absolutely. It's absurd to think 'I'm not going to help this seemingly lost child because people may think I'm about to kidnap him/her!'

Indeed, both myself, and my OH have found lost children in the past. We have found a lost little boy in Oxford Street, London, a lost girl in Chester zoo, and also a lost infant (about 3 y.o,) in our street, who turned out to live half a mile away and had wandered off! (Her mother was running around hysterical, as she thought she had been abducted!)

In each case, we took the child aside, reassured them we would take care of them and reunite them with their family soon, and looked after them til we found their family. The Oxford Street one, we informed the police, and it seems the little boy was reported missing 10 minutes earlier, and we reunited him with his parents at Marble Arch. With the zoo child, we told a member of staff, and she radioed to the main gate, where they located his mother, and we walked him up to the gate with the staff member. And finally, the neighbourhood one; we walked around the area for a few minutes and saw the frantic mother.

My dad also found 2 lost girls (aged around 7-9,) in the woods last summer, (when he took the dog for a walk,) and they were very upset as they'd wandered off a bit too far, got lost, and didn't know their way back to their location. (They were staying at the caravan park half a mile from my parents house.) My dad didn't have his mobile phone on him, and the girls didn't have one either.

So he walked them through the woods, and back to the park. He didn't think 'well I'm going to leave you to rot in the woods in case people think I'm a kidnapper!'

I would never ever just leave a lost child. There are multiple ways that you can help them without people assuming you're a flipping kidnapper! If my dad had just called 101, anything could have happened to those 2 girls. There are steep drops and deep potholes deep in the wood, and they could have wandered further in, and got badly hurt, or even killed.

Skintmama

I have always stopped in situations where I perceive a child to be lost and will continue to do so. It is a shame that some parents cannot appreciate this type of concern for children - as in TBagpuss's example.

People moving in crowds along busy streets nowadays are actually often focussed on talking on their phones or just intent on where they are going so may not have registered that the children were really alone. It would be natural to assume that a parent was somewhere nearby.

cyantist

I have stopped to wait with a lost child and contacted security in the past. But these social experiments are getting ridiculous, I see a link to new ones through my social media feeds every day, many of which were filmed in London.

It is getting to the point where if I saw a lost child in London, or someone obviously acting obnoxiously on the tube, I would assume it's yet another social experiment. I still would stop or intervene but I wonder if some of the people walking past are assuming it's another boy crying wolf scenario.

FBaby

I have always stopped in situations where I perceive a child to be lost and will continue to do so. I

But that's the issue. I expect almost everyone would stop if they perceived a child to be lost, but most would probably not have that perception, or not take the time/effort to assess whether it might be the case.

The report claims that 'featured a young boy and girl standing in the middle of Queen Street Mall in Brisbane by themselves, looking forlorn'.
That alone wouldn't forcibly jump up as that the child was lost. There is only one or two pictures where they actually appeared distressed.

Would I stop? If I was on a mission, concentrating of what I need to do and rushing, I can't be sure that I would notice a child alone in a crowd who just looked 'forlorn'. If I was on a shopping outing, browsing shops, waiting for a friend, then yes, I probably would notice.

If I saw any person crying, I would right away notice. The other day, I passed a woman who was sitting on a bench somewhere you would expect anyone to do so (then again, haven't figured out why there is a bench there, expect that it is in an area full of nursing homes). I passed on on my way to the corner shop and only as I reached the shop did I wonder if she was ok. On my way back, she was still there alone, sitting looking a bit miserable so I asked her if she was ok, she responded with a big smile that she was fine, just about to go to work in one of the nursing home and as she was a bit early, she was waiting there. Still I was glad I'd ask.

picklekin

I was once in M&S and saw a child run out of the shop, I followed to make sure they were OK as they seemed frightened. they just ran off alone down the high street! I chased after and asked them if they were OK, and they were lost, so I took them back to M&S (as that was the only place I'd known her to be). I informed the shop staff and asked them to try and find her mum, they just said OK and whisked the child off after giving me a funny look leaving me just standing there feeling a bit bewildered. Would have been nice to have known what happened, although I presume all was well.

onlyroz

We lost our daughter in the Vatican. You are herded round in one direction and we had no idea whether she had gone on ahead or had been left behind. I fought my way back through the crowd and found her by a little book stall where a lovely Italian couple had taken her. I'm glad that nobody left her standing alone.

shiny76

Several years ago I noticed a young boy (approx 3 yrs old) walking through the crowds at Chester Zoo crying.

After watching him for a min or 2 it became obvious he was lost, no one else seemed willing to help. I tried crouching down and talking to him but he was too distressed to stop and listen/talk. I tried several times whilst conscious of what others may think I was up to. Eventually I decided it was too dangerous leaving him to wander by himself so picked him up (fearing his parents may turn up and think I was kidnapping him) and took him to the nearest cafe.

Thankfully I saw the little boy being carried through the crowds about 10mins later being cuddled by one of his parents (presumably!)

Guest101

shiny76 wrote: »

Several years ago I noticed a young boy (approx 3 yrs old) walking through the crowds at Chester Zoo crying.

After watching him for a min or 2 it became obvious he was lost, no one else seemed willing to help. I tried crouching down and talking to him but he was too distressed to stop and listen/talk. I tried several times whilst conscious of what others may think I was up to. Eventually I decided it was too dangerous leaving him to wander by himself so picked him up (fearing his parents may turn up and think I was kidnapping him) and took him to the nearest cafe.

Thankfully I saw the little boy being carried through the crowds about 10mins later being cuddled by one of his parents (presumably!)

Often having children can help with a distressed child. Children are more relaxed when they have someone at eye level

Pollycat

I 'found' a young girl, maybe about 5 year old in the toilets in Wetherspoons.
She said she didn't know where her Mum was.
I took her upstairs (toilets are downstairs) and as soon as I got into the main bar area, I started saying 'here's a lost child' because I was concerned that I would be accused of abducting or assaulting her.
Luckily the manager who I know well was about & I passed her over to him.

Her mother was so drunk she'd forgotten she had her daughter with her & had just walked out of the toilet.

AubreyMac

I was a lost child once, I went to my grandparents house (I was about 4 then), and I managed to open the front door and left. I wasn't going anywhere in particular but I was just fascinated that I opened the door and went to explore. I saw someone jogging so I followed them. This jogger was a next door neighbour of mine (I lived near grandparents back then) and he figured I was lost and tried to take me back home. I got scared and cried and he had to carry me over his shoulders to take me home. As I got nearer to my home my mother saw me from the window and ran out. By then she had the panicked phone call from my father.


Looking back I feel a mixture of emotions, I find it funny now but I mainly feel gratitude that my neighbour showed enough care and compassion to treat the situation appropriately. I also wonder why my dad and grandparents (as well as all parents/guardians of lost children) were not more watchful.