Lost kids in stores???
Have you ever come across a little kid who looked lost in a grocery store, or any public place?
Recently, I noticed a little girl striding past the cereal aisle on the brink of tears. I immediately stopped my internal debate between Pops and French Toast Crunch and went after her.
I didn’t want to scare her — stranger danger and all that good stuff — so I stopped a little away from her and called out a simple, “Hey, are you okay?”
The poor thing didn’t seem sure as to whether or not she should talk to me (despite my beautiful friendly face ^_^). I just laid it out there in the open with “You’re probably not supposed to talk to strangers, but are you okay? Do you need help?”
It turns out she couldn’t find her mom. I tried to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.
She described her mom, and we set off to check every single aisle. The whole time, I kept a little distance between us to respect the girl’s personal space.
My teen sister found us and gave me a questioning look. She’d only left me for a few minutes, and now I had a kid. 😛
I recruited her to help us find the girl’s mom — and it turns out my sister had noticed a woman walking back and forth past the aisles on the other end. With team work, we helped reunite the family.
We didn’t stick around for long after that because we didn’t want the mom to feel shame in any way (there was something about her expression that hinted at this). Unfortunately, losing children in stores or other places happens. We can only hope for the best and quickest outcome.
As I reflect on this situation, I can’t help but wonder why the other adults and teens in the cereal aisle (and around that aisle) didn’t seem to mind the little girl’s distress. No one else approached her, which worries me.
Hmm, maybe they did notice, but they held back to see if anyone else would do something about it? I don’t know.
All that matters is that she’s back with her mom.
Have you ever been in this situation?
Isabelle-grabs-life 
I have been in a similar situation where u was actually the lost one and it wasn’t a store but a party. Thankfully a kindly woman noticed my tears and helped me. You did a great thing 🙂
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Thanks for sharing. I’m glad the woman was there to help you out. I was hoping someone would bring up getting lost themselves and touch on the fear (or whatever) of being in that situation. It’s scary
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One of my fears when I was younger was getting displaced from my mom. I guess these days, it’s all about, no kind deed goes unpunished. You may want to help strangers but you never know who’s going to take it the wrong way.
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Great point! You can help but be wary of the fact that others might take it the wrong way (more conflict on an already stressful situation).
It’d be interesting to know how many of us had (or have) a fear of being taken away. :S
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I was just reading a post that was a bit analytical of Hansel and Gretel stating that the number one fear in children is the fear of abandonment.
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Ooh. Are you able to share a link to it?
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Sure.
https://cicily17.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/heidi-and-gretel-whats-cookin/
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Thanks for letting me know about this. Very interesting, indeed. Grimm contemporary re-tellings and analyzing the psychological makeup of such a tale…Yes!
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Yes, she is a fascinating authoress.
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It is so difficult to approach children who look lost or in need of help. Most parents do instil the ‘stranger danger’ idea into their children – and rightly so. And as Marissa above says, your motive for approaching a child can so easily be misconstrued. What you did was done very tactfully, Izzy, putting the child at ease with you by keeping your distance and reassuring her that you’d find her mom. A lovely story for the quote.
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You guys are right. It’s scary and heartbreaking that we live in such a society that calls for being wary about the help offered. :S
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It’s very worrying – and a sad sign of the times.
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I think many people would have avoided the situation for fear of being embarrassed. You get points for bravery. I’ve probably been in a few situations like this as a kid, or vice versa, but my brain tends to cut out bad memories so I can’t share a story.
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Aw, it’s all right. In this situation (a right place at a right time), I’m glad the little girl had enough faith in me or humanity to let me help her.
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That’s really good of you! It’s horrible how so few people are willing to help. I’ve had to do something similar in a library. Not even the people who worked there were willing to help her out
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YES! It definitely takes a collaborative effort to help protect each other. Happy to know you would (and do) the same!
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Good for you…I’d have done the same. ☺
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I don’t know why, but it’s weird to hear “good job” and such. :S 🙂 Still, thanks.
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You’ve been so nice and what a wonderful quote there. Poor girl! I do find sometimes situations like this sometimes but usually their adults are keeping a watchful eye from a distance.
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Ooh! This is something else to think about—overanalyzing the situation and stepping in when it isn’t necessary. But still, it’s great that you double check the kids (or whoever) are okay.
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Yea I try, thanks
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I could imagine the situation u were in. U did a fantastic job. Appreciate that.
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Thanks 🙂 As troubled as I was for the little girl, it was nothing compared to how she or her mother felt. Thanks, again
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Hi, I wrote the Hansel and Gretel post so kindly recommended by Marissa. (Thanks for reading it.) Can you remember how awful you felt the first day of kindergarten when you thought your mom might not return?! On a lighter note everyone might want to check out this classic children’s book, Lucy McLockett, I think it’s from the 50s, about little girl lost in dept. store who does get found–and, whimsically, has her head “screwed back on” by a janitor.
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