Parenting isn’t easy. Especially as soon as your children learn how to walk, or worse — run. Nothing can get your heart racing faster than losing track of your child, even for one second. Here, parents share their stories of times when they accidentally lost their children.
Shopping
Alicia Allen writes about when she was out shopping with her two year old daughter and her brother. She briefly looked away from her daughter so that she could see her brother show off his new hat.
Gone
”My brother said ‘how do you like my hat’, I glanced to the side to look at him and the hat he just bought and when I looked back at my two year old she was just GONE,” writes Allen.
Frantic
She frantically searched through all the nearby stores, until she was finally able to find her daughter in a nearby Target, thanks to the help of the store’s employees. “My heart stopped and I felt like the worst mom on the planet. It happens so fast,” writes Allen.
Airport
Kristina Hesse writes that she was in an airport with her two children one day. As she was trying to change one of their diapers, the other child needed her help.
Running
“So I set the toddler down and turn my back for 2 seconds to throw out the diaper and open the door to the stall. And he takes off running- out the bathroom door and into the busy airport terminal,” writes Hesse.
Eternity
She says she was able to find her son in a matter of seconds, but writes that those seconds felt like an eternity to her. “So not only did I lose my kid in the airport, but I left the other one unattended in a public bathroom,” writes Hesse.
Stories
Facebook page Sanctimommy asked it’s readers to share with them their most cringe-worthy stories of losing their kids by using the hashtag #ivelostmykid. Here are some of our favorites.
Panic
Karen Sams writes about how she was ordering dinner at a fast food restaurant when she briefly looked to the cashier to answer a question, and her son was gone in a matter of seconds. Panicked, she began calling out his name throughout the entire restaurant.
Frantic
“I started frantically running through the restaurant yelling his name like a psycho for about 15 terrifying seconds until a guy stepped out of the men’s room right next to where we were standing and said, ‘Are you looking for a little boy? I think he just walked into the men’s room,’”writes Sams.
Potty
Suddenly, out comes Sams’ son from the bathroom, beaming with excitement and exclaiming proudly ‘I went potty all by myself!’” We’re sure this mother was beyond relieved to have found her son, and to learn that her potty training days were finally over!
Show
Reena Pandhi Fosse writes about how she lost track of her daughter while at the zoo one afternoon while they were out on a family venture. Her daughter wanted to see the bird show, but the family had other plans, so they told her no.
Unexpected
She sent the kids to play in a dinosaur dig, but things took an unexpected turn. “Next thing we look up and can’t see her and didn’t know the dig area had an opening on the other end. The little bastard walked to the bird show and sat with another family and watched the whole show after which the family deposited said child to guest relations,” writes Fosse.
Bathroom
This mom shows us that even using the bathroom can be a risky thing to do when there’s no one else to watch your kids. Sarah Restrepo writes that her three year old son managed run out of the front door of their house all during the short amount of time that she used to go to the bathroom.
Escape
“The next 3 seconds were glorious, I even got brave enough to lock the door (I know, I know, I’m an adrenaline junky). The next thing I know, i hear an elderly lady’s voice say the darnedest thing “where’s your mother?” My heart leapt almost as high as I did. I ran to the door, all while pulling my drawers up, and I see my front door ajar,” writes Restrepo.
Dog
Somehow, her son had unlocked the front door and ran across the street, all because he wanted to pet a dog. Luckily, their neighbor was able to spot him before anything bad could happen.