Last Saturday, my family and I were just entering the Factory Outlet Store at Gurney Plaza when we saw a Chinese lady rushing out of FOS calling a name. Another lady came out and then an elderly lady followed – judging by their frantic expressions, they were looking for a missing child.
While the two ladies looked around outside, the first lady pleaded distraughtly into her cellphone,
“Honey! Honey! Where are you? Please come here, honey! Where is the boy? We can’t find the boy!”
I guessed that it was a Chinese-Caucasian boy. We decided to ask the other Chinese lady the boy’s age and his clothing to help in the search. A man in crutches also came up to ask questions. The boy was about 4.
We told her to alert the Gurney Plaza security about his disappearance. Luckily, one FOS staff could direct the mother to the ground floor Information Counter.
The Caucasian father soon reached FOS and the Mom yelled out to him to go to the Information Counter. Then, she and the elderly lady (probably her Mum) rushed down the escalator. No idea where they were going…
The other Chinese lady (presumably the aunt) stayed behind with her two sons in FOS. When we talked to her again, she was very sure the boy was still in FOS because:
a) there’s only one entrance and
b) she’d just seen the boy a few minutes ago sitting on the wooden bench.
We suggested checking out the dressing rooms, the store room and even the storage cupboards in case he was playing hide-and-seek. She said FOS staff had already helped them check.
She and her sons continued poking through the clothes rails in FOS while we went about our browsing and kept an eye out for the boy. Since the atmosphere was so charged and my own boy was getting hyperactive in FOS, we decided to leave.
Then, the two boys emerged with the missing child who clung to the Chinese lady. He looked very pale and was near to tears. He kept saying, “Papa, Papa…”
She said that he was crouching in fear in the middle of one of the clothes rails!
First, the grandmother arrived at the scene, hugging the boy, crying and yelling in Chinese,
“Where were you? You frightened me to death!!!”
This continued for a while and the boy broke down and started to shout.
Then, the tearful mother appeared and did the exact same thing as the grandmother but she was even LOUDER. By this time, the boy was clearly traumatised because he was crying, shouting and hitting out at his mother.
Finally, the father appeared and made the smartest move – he picked up the boy in his arms and proceeded to move away from the FOS entrance where a small crowd had gathered to watch. We were on our way down the escalator…
As a mother, I was nearly in tears myself when I saw the tearful mother reunited with her little boy. I’d nearly lost my own little boy when he slipped out to gaze at the display window – unnoticed by 3 adults!!!
What did we learn from this?
1. NO shopping or sales is worth leaving your child to roam around on his own or under the care of other children. An adult MUST always be in charge of watching the child.
2. NEVER leave the shop where you were all in when the child goes missing. The aunt was right – the boy WAS in FOS all the time and he was actually frightened when he couldn’t see or hear his Mum, his grandmother or his aunt anymore. That was why he stayed inside.
3. I thought the FOS management could be more helpful in the search i.e. switch off the loud, blaring music and perhaps let the mother/father use the PA system to call the child to come out?
4. CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS when you find your child. I can imagine that the mom was so scared she couldn’t breath or think (I know how it feels) when she couldn’t find the little boy.
But, the little boy was even more frightened at losing his mother and probably confused at why his grandmother and mother were crying and yelling at him. Luckily, the father was the steady rock and did the right thing. Maybe that’s why the little boy kept asking for his Papa!
When I told Hubby this story, he could only say, “Women who want to shop should not take a young child with them.” I have to agree 100% with him.
After missing him once, I now shop when my little boy is in the kindy or is safely under the care of his father who will bring him to the amusement center until I’m done. Or, I shop online. There is really NO way to shop with an active child!
What a drama. That mother is REALLY lucky to have found back her child. What do you think?
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Luckily the child is found. I cannot imagine losing a child under such circumstances. Hope everyone learned a lesson.
aiyo… kiasi lang!
thanks God the parents found the boy. it must be a big drama for the whole family. whenever i go shopping, i will remind my daughter never never run out of the shop without me.
totally agree with your opinion. i cannot imagine if my children go missing, can go crazy !!! but you know how it is with toddlers, always running around and hardly listen to what we say..
At home, we taught our youngest sister to shout out “Mummy, where are you?” LOUDLY just in case she loses sight of us when shopping. It worked like a charm and we never missed her.
Etceteramommy – I couldn’t imagine it either…
Allisia – Exactly!
Pauline S – Ya, I do that too except I NAG because he doesn’t listen to gentle reminders…
Siti – Oh yes, I know what you mean about ‘running around’ and ‘hardly listen’!
Mummy to Baby V – That’s a good lesson. My tot does that too he can’t find me and I am thankful that he will stay put, cry loudly and hit/kick anyone who goes near him when he can’t find us. But he’s still so small I keep him close to me every time.
I had similar experience while shopping in Jusco (can’t remember which branch) baby department with hubby and MIL. I remembered that I was holding Brendan’s hand while he searched for his favourite toy train. Who knows mommy herself was riveted by the pretty potties displayed (and suddenly remembered that the boys need a potty) until she forgot (opsss…) to hold her child’s hand.
It was just a matter of few minutes and when I looked again, to my utmost horror, saw that Brendan was missing. I kept berating myself for being so so careless, wincing at the thought of the accusing look Hubby would give, and wondering what if Brendan had been kidnapped (after all, we read those in the papers), and my mind full of ‘If only I have not been so careless’ statements… I believe mommies who have gone through similar experience would be able to identify the adrenalin rush looking for a missing child.
Hubby and MIL were called into the search-and-rescue operation(haha–it seems funny now) and we searched high and low, calling out Brendan’s name through every alley. I was exasperated when the salesgirls said that they had not seen our child–where could he be??—He was not in the store room too.
Do you where we find Brendan? Hubby saw him sitting quietly at the bench outside the baby department, unaware of the frenzy his parents were in. I was only too relieved to see him and hugged him real tight….reminding myself never to be so careless again (or might consider not bringing him along next time). And no, I didn’t scold my boy— it’s my own fault after all.
KittyCat: Sounds so much like my experience! I know how you feel about hugging him really tight when you find him. What’s worse is how oblivious he is to all our calling and hunting…he sits down looking all cute and innocent.
yor…my heart went pumping reading this. really a lesson learnt the hard way
thk god he was found safe
KittyCat: Ya, we were glad it was a happy ending too!
Got way, tie time to a cord. I seen ppl doing that. I preferred to teach my child not to run around and stayed close to me.
KittyCat: Same here!
*Gulps* Guilty….love to shop even with kids in tow. I usually do this while we’re vacationing in KL. Good reminder for me. Thanks for sharing.
KittyCat: Hey, if they are obedient and stick with you, it’s ok. I’m still getting mine to orbit around me!
i think i’ve been lucky with rye li so far (this girl scared to lose us – also coz we’ve been telling her not to wander off far as someone may catch her away from us). i’m not sure with no.2 though coz so far she loves getting her own way.
anyway, it’s a good reminder to always be weary of our child in public places.
KittyCat: No. 2 sounds like this fella here. You really have to be careful ya because they are headstrong and will take off for something they see.
usually its either one of us watching the kids and another browsing in the store. but mostly clothes are for myself or kids or assist hub to find his clothes, then hub will stay at the entrance to watch out for our kids coming out from the store. like FOS, my kids will be all around the store, how to expect them to follow me where i go? so hub stands at the entrance to be a jaga lor..
KittyCat: Yalah, clothes shopping is the usually the problem! Goodlah Hubby watches out
Most times when we shop, one of us will take care of YY while the other one shops. Otherwise, if either one takes her out for groceries shopping, she’ll be sitting inside the trolley. I once went to MPH warehouse sale with YY alone. I had to use both hands to carry the box containing all the books, but luckily YY was obedient and held on to my leg all the time, just as I asked her to. But thinking back, that WAS quite a risk I took.
KittyCat: Gulp, I wouldn’t dare bring him to a warehouse sale! Will definitely lose him in the crowd and the noise…