Tonight, on my way home from work, I stopped at the little local grocery store. As I was coming back to the car to put my groceries away a truck pulls in next to me.
They are doing some remodeling of this grocery store, so the parking lot is all tore up and you have to walk a little ways to get into the store.
This gentlemen gets out of the truck and says, "I'll be right back!" to the person sitting in the truck.
Well, I look over and here - left all alone in the truck - is a little boy who is "maybe" 4 or 5 yrs. old. The windows are open in the truck.
There is NO WAY this man could even see the store entrance, than alone his little boy left in the truck clear at the far end of the parking lot.
Last year, I posted about a little girl (3 or 4 yrs. old) left sitting alone at a table while her mother went and filled their plates at a Chinese buffet. Again, the mother couldn't EVEN see her daughter as she filled their plates.
Wake up people . . it only takes a split second for someone to come along and lure your loved one away. Just this morning they were talking to some parents on TV whose daughter was taken from her bedroom in their home during the night two weeks ago. If someone can come into your house and take your children, I cringe to think how easy it would be to take them in situations like I've seen where they are in public places, left alone.
Next time . . . I'm calling the authorities and report it. The police department is real close to this grocery store and they could be there within minutes.
I know some of you will tell me that you have done similar things . . . you'll only be a minute and you can see you children. Hogwash!! What you "think" is a "minute", can really be 5 or 10 minutes - enough time to snatch your child.
As much of an inconvenience it is to take small children with you to run errands - and easier to leave them in the car, as you'll be "right back" . . . . please, please, please don't do that! I don't care if you are at the gas station, 7-11, library, convenient store, bank, or wherever . . . DON'T LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN ALONE!
Even if there are "other" children in the car too - leaving children by themselves is never a good idea, no matter how "responsible" little Suzy (who is 7 yrs. old) is. All it takes is some person coming up to the window and showing the kids a picture of their "lost" dog or cat and the kids are jumping out to go with the person to find their lost animal.
Please, don't let the ones under you care become a statistic or a reason to be on a manhunt on the 6 o'clock news.
This ordeal happened over an hour-and-a-half-ago, and I'm still upset by it.
Bucky
I'm sure people think my husband and I are paranoid nut cases the way we watch over our 4 year old but we don't care what people think. There are too many weirdos out there.
AMEN!!!
I took my grandkids to the movies this winter and the 8 year old boy had to go to the bathroom. The restroom was one of those open affairs without doors on the initial entrance. This old lady stood inside and some feet closer to the actual entrance to the bathroom and peaked every so often. Movie theater was close to a university, and sorry folks, I don't trust a darn soul when it comes to those cerished little ones---no matter who they belong to. Irish ;D
Quote from: irish on May 03, 2012, 09:59:46 PM
This old lady stood inside and some feet closer to the actual entrance to the bathroom and peaked every so often.
Irish - when I first read that, I thought it was some other lady . . when I re-read it, I realized you were talking about YOURSELF as "this old lady". ;)
Good for you, Grandma. I would be standing there waiting for him like a hawk too!
I remember years ago when I was traveling cross country alone with our son - he must have been around 6 yrs. old, and we stopped to get a bite to eat. I needed to use the restroom and I took him inside the ladies restroom with me, and had him stand outside the stall so I could see his feet while I used the facility. Then, we switched places . . . there was no way I was going to let my little boy go into the men's bathroom all by himself when we're out in public.
I've been blessed and entrusted with a son . . . and you bet your bottom dollar I will do
A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G to protect him. Nobody ever should challenge this mama-bear . . . cause I
WILL come out with claws drawn!!
If I am overprotective . . . guilty as charged . . . and proud of it!
Okay . . . I'll get off my soapbox now . . it's just something near and dear to my heart. Things aren't like they used to be . . . there are a lot of sick people in this world and it wouldn't bother them in the least to do crimes against children. We need to do all we can to protect the innocent children - whether they are your own, or someone elses.
Bucky
High five, Bucky! ;)
Glad you have said this!
Never ever leave your kids unattended like that. Perverts are looking around for situations like you just described.
When I had to run errands and didn't want to be "slowed down' by our kids, I left them home with their father. I have read stories where car jackers took off with kids buckled in their car seats.
When I take my grandkids shopping,movies etc..of course there is the bathroom issue. The last time we went to the mall my 9 year old grandson said he had to go to the bathroom. I went to the "mens restroom" door opened it and said very loud "Cullen you go in to use the bathroom, make sure you wash your hands...I am keeping this door open while your in there".
I then wedge my foot in the door and keep it open by 8 inches and I talk to him while he is in there.
I had a friend tell me when she took her son to the bathroom (age about 6 at the time) in public, she took him to the womens, faced him towards the wall right across from the stall she was using...that way she could see his back but no one in there had to worry about a 6 year old watching them use the toilet. It worked for her.
Thankfully most places have 'Family " restrooms now.
We have got to be vigilant...think of every detail to keep kids safe.
eye2dry
Hoooooray!!!!! for all you caring mothers, grandmothers and baby-lovers. I just love people who love children.
Children are the most precious gifts on this earth.
I think back to grocery shopping when the kids were young. We had 3 boys and my hubby was gone out of town almost every week on business, overnight too. I had the kids with me all the time.
I can remember hauling those 3 kids to the grocery store. I never left them in the car cause even back then I didn't trust a soul. I remember letting them outside to play with the neighbor kids and I was always checking on them or would plan my work so I could be by a window and look out at them.
My hubby thought I was a little overybearing on this subject. I don't know why I was this way as I was not raised like this. The only thing I can think of that influenced me is that I took my OB training in Chicago on the Southside at the University. Heck, the students were not to go anyplace unless 2 or 3 were together. The hospital where I took OB training had a student doctor get murdered on the front steps just prior to starting my training. I saw the other side of life and I didn't like it. I learned to lock my dorm door and my car door in those 3 years and it changed my life forever. And this was in the early 1960's. Irish
In Texas, you can't leave a child home alone under the age of 11. The same probably applies to cars, too, but I don't know. My first was born when Adam Walsh was in the headlines...and I was so paranoid about MY brand-new Adam, that when I took a shower and no one was home with me, I would buckle him in his carrier, bring him in the bathroom with me and lock the door. I did that for months.
A few weeks ago we had a little 2 year old girl that was killed. Her and her mother were in the front yard and mom only took her eyes off her a few seconds. That was long enough for the little girl to go out in the street and get run over by a neighbor backing out of their driveway.
The neighbor is just devastated as the mother is who said I only took my eyes off her for a few seconds!!
I'm overprotective as well and my kids now understand why and don't question me anymore.
The Friday before winter vacation this year, my husband brought our 2 older girls to the bus stop like usual. It's on a small main road in our town with an intersecting smaller road that leads out of our development. So my husband is sitting parked 3 car lengths away from the main road (on the side road) when the bus pulled up on the main road. At the same time, a van pulled past my husband, and stopped next to the kids getting on the bus. There are about 20 kids at the stop and they were all lined up, my kids near the end. The guy in the van called my oldest daughter over and asked if she wanted to skip school and go have a play date with a little girl named Ava (ironically the same name as a girl who was almost abducted a few weeks earlier from the same bus stop, the guy even tried to sign her out of school). Said he'd take her to the store and buy her treats if she wanted.
She looked back at my husband who was looking behind him at the kids who were late and running to catch the bus. She began to walk back to my husband to tell him what the guy said to her (she knew about what had been going on with Ava) and the guy asked my middle daughter if she wanted to get in his van and see his new puppy.
After the other kids got on the bus my older daughter was almost to my husband when the bus driver blew the horn. She was afraid of missing the bus, so she turned and ran back. We didn't know until they got home that afternoon. We went to Ava's house and talked to her parents that night. Her description matched my kids' description of the guy but with a different vehicle. We talked to the police but haven't seen the guy since. I'm terrified he's going to get some little girl some day :'(
Missy - how scary!
The nerve of this guy to approach your daughters with so many other people around.
I wish your husband had seen the whole ordeal unfolding and could have gotten a license number and a close-up look at this creep.
If you haven't already, explain to your girls to tell a bus driver, teacher or Principal immediately if something like this happens again. Also, if this creep has done this once before at the same stop - someone should be staking out the area to try and catch this guy.
And, if the girls spot this guy again - make sure they tell someone right away.
Is the school aware of both instances with this guy? Did they send home any kind of paper for the parents to alert them?
I can only imagine what you were thinking when your daughter told you this later in the day. I'm thankful your daughters are safe.
Bucky
So scary...you hear of kids disappearing all of the time now and in only a matter of minutes...seconds even. I can certainly understand parents being "overprotective" in this day and age.
Thank God your daughters are ok. There is no such thing as being too protective these days. Kids are going missing all the time, and they are either being hurt, killed, or sold.
I pray for the children, because it is a whole new time for these children.
susanep
Yes, the police got involved and watched the area for weeks. The problem was, we last saw him the last day before winter vacation, so he had 2 weeks of no kids at t he bus stop and probably found another place to stake out :(.
I was upset that they never sent home a letter or made a phone call for parents to be extra careful (we have the automated call system for messages from the school or general emergency messages). They said they couldn't because it's just speculation at this point. I don't know how that could be when the guy tried to sign out the other girl FROM SCHOOL! They said they don't have enough evidence yet and it could just be a big misunderstanding and putting everyone on high alert wouldn't be a good thing. I disagree. Having a child abducted because their parents never knew a predator is prowling would be a worse thing IMHO.
They had an assembly for the kids about strangers and what to do if approached, so that was good. But a kid alone in a car (original post)~ what is THAT kid supposed to do?? What if some guy comes up and says "Your grandpa just had a heart attack in the store and I need you to come with me while we take him to the hospital"??? No kid in the world would say no to that. :(
And yes, I cried so hard that day I scared my kids. They asked me why I was crying if they were ok and he didn't get them. I told them it's every mommy's nightmare that some bad person tried to take my babies to hurt them. One day they will understand, only I hope it's not through experience.