Has anyone genuinely lost their kid in a crowd before?

[schellen]

BigDevil:

It happened to me once.

But I don't mean losing DD or DS...I WAS the lost child!! :lol:

Oh yes, that reminds me of the incident when I got lost and freaked my parents out. :lol:

I was in lower pri and my parents took me and my sis to Chinese Gdn for their annual CNY thingy. It was, of course, very crowded. After I got separated, I didn't even feel panicky. I just tried to look for them but it was difficult since it was dark, crowded and I was small and skinny. In the end, I made my way back across some roads to the carpark where my dad had parked his car. I sat on the bonnet to wait for them to return. Luckily I did that cos there were many cockroaches scurrying about on the ground. :!: I could see them running everywhere beneath me since my dad parked near a lamppost. I think that was the scariest part of that evening. LOL Eventually, my worried parents decided to return to the car and they seemed very relieved to find me there. (I guess the night was still young as I didn't see anyone else coming back for their cars while I was waiting.)

[2ppaamm]

Of course I have genuinely lost my child before.I don’t think I’m a lousy mother for no reason.


Now, and it has to be in Japan. My son was angry about something - and I forgot what. So he stomped off. I couldn’t find him. It was the Tokyo aquarium. Then, he was completely out of sight!

I went to the information centre, and using that lousy Japanese of mine, described to the monolingual receptionist my son. They found him, and I got him back.

It was a good lesson for him. He learnt never to do that again, and he learnt that not everyone can speak either English or Chinese. He couldn’t communicate with anyone there and was completely lost. He was 5.

Thinking back, it was kinda funny.

[schellen]

jedamum:

now that you have gotten her a 'lollipop', you should have lesser worries.


Whenever my kids (both btw; even ds1 included if he did not bring along his handphone) are out of my line of sight even for a few sec, paranoia sets in.

Aiyoh, that is only if she remembers to bring it out in the first place! :stupid:

I guess for your DS2, paranoia is expected? :?

[schellen]

2ppaamm:

It was a good lesson for him. He learnt never to do that again, and he learnt that not everyone can speak either English or Chinese. He couldn't communicate with anyone there and was completely lost. He was 5.

We went to Japan (F&E) with DD1 when she was 4, 6 and 7. Each time, before leaving Singapore, I would write a bilingual (Eng and Jap) note and laminate it before stuffing it into her backpack. I taught her to show it to anyone she approached for help should she get lost. The note stated her name, nationality, hotel address and our contact numbers. I also did that for my PILs.

When we went by tour group to Hokkaido, the tour guide gave us small badges to pin to our jackets/bags which had his mobile number stuck behind. We were told to approach any Jap person to ask them to call his mobile should we get lost. (He said that it's almost impossible for a Jap to not have a mobile. LOL) We made sure that DD1 got the message too. Luckily for us, she never got lost. (On the other hand, I can't say that for us adults, especially when we got the maps wrong. :lol: )

[jedamum]

schellen:

Aiyoh, that is only if she remembers to bring it out in the first place! :stupid:

I guess for your DS2, paranoia is expected? :?

haha...i am the one nagging ds1 to bring it along every time we go out...but that is if he remembers to charge the battery in the first place! :stupid:

yes, ds2..even getting out of the house we worry he'll climb the parapet; we even keep all the house keys out of reach cos once, he mentioned wanting to get his dad to repair his toys, opened the cabinet, took the keys and went straight for the main door.

[jedamum]

schellen:

I would write a bilingual (Eng and Jap) note and laminate it before stuffing it into her backpack. I taught her to show it to anyone she approached for help should she get lost. The note stated her name, nationality, hotel address and our contact numbers. I also did that for my PILs.

oh thanks! i will remember to do it for my mum.

[schellen]

jedamum:

oh thanks! i will remember to do it for my mum.

Actually on the last trip, my PILs declined my offer cos they said that they could get around fine even without speaking Jap. They told us that they got lost on our first trip around Shinjuku station (where sashimi and I got lost too, and is said to be a place where people do easily get lost) and they approached a Jap and wrote their request on a piece of paper in Chinese. So the Jap responded by writing down the answer in kanji and using gestures.

[2ppaamm]

schellen:

We went to Japan (F&E) with DD1 when she was 4, 6 and 7. Each time, before leaving Singapore, I would write a bilingual (Eng and Jap) note and laminate it before stuffing it into her backpack. I taught her to show it to anyone she approached for help should she get lost. The note stated her name, nationality, hotel address and our contact numbers. I also did that for my PILs.

That's very clever and thanks for the tip! Definitely will do it the next time. We seldom travel with a tour group and that's why I have never gotten a chance to learn these tricks! Thanks!

[tutormum]

schellen:

2ppaamm:

It was a good lesson for him. He learnt never to do that again, and he learnt that not everyone can speak either English or Chinese. He couldn't communicate with anyone there and was completely lost. He was 5.

We went to Japan (F&E) with DD1 when she was 4, 6 and 7. Each time, before leaving Singapore, I would write a bilingual (Eng and Jap) note and laminate it before stuffing it into her backpack. I taught her to show it to anyone she approached for help should she get lost. The note stated her name, nationality, hotel address and our contact numbers. I also did that for my PILs.

When we went by tour group to Hokkaido, the tour guide gave us small badges to pin to our jackets/bags which had his mobile number stuck behind. We were told to approach any Jap person to ask them to call his mobile should we get lost. (He said that it's almost impossible for a Jap to not have a mobile. LOL) We made sure that DD1 got the message too. Luckily for us, she never got lost. (On the other hand, I can't say that for us adults, especially when we got the maps wrong. :lol: )

That's a very good idea. For me, I'll get the name card of the hotel so that I can show to anyone who may be able to help if I'm lost.

[Blobbi]

BigDevil:

It happened to me once.

But I don't mean losing DD or DS...I WAS the lost child!! :lol:

Think I was 5 or 6, and went abroad for the very first time. We were at the airport returning to Singapore, and I was fascinated by how the luggages moved along the conveyor belt and eventually disappearing behind the check-in counters. I was so engrossed that by the time I looked up, my parents were no longer anywhere around.

Gosh I really panicked and started crying...crazy thoughts going through my head thinking that my parents had abandoned me. I walked round and round looking for them. But this part of the memory gets fuzzy...not sure how I was eventually found. :lol:

While I can laugh about it now, it was a very traumatic experience for a young kid. That's why I made sure DD and DS are always close to me when we're out.

Actually, it happened to me too. I was very young, maybe around 5/6 too. I went to a relative's house in an HDB flat. When they were chatting, I got bored and decided to walk up and down the stairs. And then I couldn't find my way back to the correct floor. They all looked the same to me :o!! I actually remember some of that panic. My mum tells me they found me in an Indian family's home watching tv and eating snacks. :lol: