Disturbing incident with my daughter at Typhoon Lagoon

[logan115]

About the toddler incident...The only thing I would have done different, is when the family came back and asked if I saw the baby, I would of shrugged my shoulders and said "No, sorry, the chair was empty when I got here."

Then I would have sat back and watched them run around like crazy....teach them a lesson. When you told them she was with security, they knew right away she was safe. If you let them think something happened to her..maybe it would have knocked some sense into them. But then again.....maybe not.

No flames from me. We simply disagree.

To leave a half-dressed toddler laying, totally unattended, in the blazing sun at a busy theme park is beyond irresponsible and uncaring. I remember a story a few years ago where a couple left a baby in a stroller while they rode Pirates of the Caribbean. If memory serves, the police were called and they got in a ton of trouble.

I seriously doubt the OP would have told them she saw the baby wander off. What would be the point in that?

Think we're just getting into semantics at this point and we definitely agree that those parents need to be taught a lesson, and was not suggesting that the OP would've told them she saw the baby wander off - after all the OP went to the high school across the street from my current house

I was referring more to the first post above. And again I completely agree that those parents deserve a good scare and reprimand, but would hate to have seen something even more unfortunate come of this.

Chris

 

[ChrizJen]

OP, I completely agree with you on both counts. Security should at the very least have taken your complaint so that they could keep an eye on the boy for a while to make sure he didn't try anything else. (although I think that your DH may have scared him from trying anything else...LOL)

As for the sleeping toddler, good for you! I think that a perfect indication that you did the right thing was that it obviously took the parents a while to realize that their baby was gone! If they had just stepped away for a second, keeping a close eye on her, they would have noticed right away. So that indicates that they were paying her no attention whatsoever. Hideous.

And to the poster who mentioned the fact that 2 wrongs don't make a right and that the parents could have had a heart attack...No flames from me, but here's my counter to that:
It's not my responsibility (or the OP's, or anyone's for that matter) to ensure the safety of another grown adult person. It is however, in my opinion, EVERY adult's responsibility to watch out for the safety of children. If the child's parents care little enough about her that they would place her in harm's way, you can be CERTAIN that I will step in and try to ensure her safety. She's a defenseless baby, and I shudder to think what could have happened to her if the OP had just ignored her.

ETA: to logan115: I just read your post above, and I get it now. You were referring to a particular post where it was suggested that the OP should have lied about the wherabouts of the child. I get that now.

 

[logan115]

OP, I completely agree with you on both counts. Security should at the very least have taken your complaint so that they could keep an eye on the boy for a while to make sure he didn't try anything else. (although I think that your DH may have scared him from trying anything else...LOL)

As for the sleeping toddler, good for you! I think that a perfect indication that you did the right thing was that it obviously took the parents a while to realize that their baby was gone! If they had just stepped away for a second, keeping a close eye on her, they would have noticed right away. So that indicates that they were paying her no attention whatsoever. Hideous.

And to the poster who mentioned the fact that 2 wrongs don't make a right and that the parents could have had a heart attack...No flames from me, but here's my counter to that:
It's not my responsibility (or the OP's, or anyone's for that matter) to ensure the safety of another grown adult person. It is however, in my opinion, EVERY adult's responsibility to watch out for the safety of children. If the child's parents care little enough about her that they would place her in harm's way, you can be CERTAIN that I will step in and try to ensure her safety. She's a defenseless baby, and I shudder to think what could have happened to her if the OP had just ignored her.

ETA: to logan115: I just read your post above, and I get it now. You were referring to a particular post where it was suggested that the OP should have lied about the wherabouts of the child. I get that now.

Thanks for clarifying, and those parents should be subjected to 1000 lashes with a Dole Whip.........

Chris

 

[Jeafl]

OP here. I find a lot of the comments very interesting and thought provoking. To be honest, it never occurred to me to tell the parents that I didn't know where their daughter was because I was so mad at the time, all I wanted was for them to realize how stupid they were. I was kind of mad that I had to spend part of my day watching their child (admittedly of my own volition), when I could have been off enjoying myself. Even though it was only about a half hour total out of my day, it was a half hour that I could have spent enjoying my own kids.

I just did not feel comfortable leaving that poor girl once I realized no one was watching her. If I would have left her and then later heard that something happened to her I would never have forgiven myself.

At the time I was pretty upset when the parents were yelling at me, but now I realize that I really don't care what they think. They were upset at me because "they knew how long their child napped" and "were back in plenty of time before she would have woken up". The fact that the poor thing was getting sunburned on top of everything else didn't seem to occur to them.

Hopefully they now see the error of their ways and won't ever do it again.

 

[luv2sew]

Let them yell all they want ....You absolutely did the right thing and probably most everyone else would have done the same thing. But I still think security should have been the ones to wait around for the parents return and be the ones to do the explaining.

 

[TDC Nala]

Some teens do stupid stuff, whether it's typical or not. I'm not concerned that on the basis of the one reported incident they didn't try to track the teen boy down and throw him out of the park. An older guy, not a teen? They probably would have. Agreed they should take a written report though.

As for the toddler - they called a female security person because I would bet they have a rule that male CMs don't touch little girls (probably little boys too) unless absolutely necessary.

Those parents should have been arrested.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Let them yell all they want ....You absolutely did the right thing and probably most everyone else would have done the same thing. But I still think security should have been the ones to wait around for the parents return and be the ones to do the explaining.

I totally agree. Security, or better yet, the cops, should have been waiting there for this lovely bunch to return.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Can you imagine leaving a toddler alone like that in a park, I really feel that the parents need to have social work intervention, and given parenting classes at the very least and more, wow. Maybe you did help them to see the light somewhat but anyone who would have done that is really off the wall and needs some kind of intervention. I hope they did call the police. I agree that someone from security should have been waiting there for their return. I personally would have just said that security took her and left it at that, bc who knows what they are capable of.

 

[3guysandagal]

In regards to the toddler....

Family returns.
"Where's our baby??"
Me (if it were me)
"She went thataway" (pointing towards Security office)

The police should have been involved, and more than likely were, but we will never know.
Some people are just brain dead.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Okay, I am thinking I might know why the child was removed immediately to somewhere such as the Security Office.

I imagine that, as a matter of policy, Disney will do almost anything to avoid having a major incident like this play out in public on their property in front of hundreds of guest.....

They may well have had Police waiting there....
Or, if the police had not yet arrived, they would have detained the couple there (security office... wherever) until they arrived.

If this is true, and I am assuming that this is the case, it still does not answer the question as to why a security officer was not posted right there, waiting for this couple to return.

Why just completely walk off.... Why not have an officer stay right there to document the exact time that the couple returned, which would then show exactly how long the child had been abandoned. In this respect, I do wonder if perhaps Disney dropped the ball. Perhaps they did have security staking out the area, and when they saw that the OP directed the couple to Security... just tailed them there, avoiding that, never-at-any-cost, public 'incident'.

This may not be all over the press....
But, is there not some way to access records which would show if this couple were charged/arrested/etc.