Question for CMs...lost child procedure?

[dragonfly57005]

You joke about it, but my SIL is a nurse and apparently it's a regular occurrence for parents to drop babies off on a Friday night claiming they're ill and then leaving them there until Sunday. Difficult to imagine what goes through these peoples minds...

I've reported those parents to cps several times...

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

scariest night of my life was the Friday after Thanksgiving 2011 -
The great WAVE of people started pouring pass me.

I will NEVER EVER forget the look of pure panic in the CM's eyes as he realized we were missing an 8 year at PARK CLOSING the DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING at EPCOT! ACK!!!!!
10 minutes later we found him. Shaking, pale, terrified, and clinging to the turnstiles. Completely alone. daily.

This is a terrifying story! I will use this as a teachable moment with my kids. So glad you found him!

 

[CozumelDisneyFan]

Lots of interesting stories and lots to learn! Thank you!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

after a fantamic show on a EMH night grandson stppoed to throw a cup away, not telling anyone. we missed him at the hat,where we were taking younger brothers and grandpa. 3 adults split up looking for him. all talked to different CM's dad was one to go to guest services and walked end 5 steps behind CM with child. scary 15 minutes. from what we were told, did not close gates but security was watching gate and bus stops until grandson was located, just incase he headed that way.

 

[WDSearcher]

This is great advise. My son, then 3, lost me at Six Flags. He was at the play area and wandered out the other exit looking for me. He was walking around looking for me when this teenage kid (six flags employee) just walks up and takes him by the hand and starts walking him to lost children. My son is upset because he knows I am at the playground and this person is taking him away from the playground. The guy tells him that he is going to take him to find his mom and my son goes nuts. Just the week before we had been talking about the wolf in sheeps clothing and how if anyone ever says they are taking you to me they are lying and trying to steal you. My son thinks he is being stolen and freaks. Starts screaming and running away. Of course he is no match for a teenager and is quickly overtaken. The guys picks my son up and starts carrying him, all the while my son is hitting and kicking him. Of course no one stops to help since it's obvious to everyone else that this is an employee, not an abductor. Lost parents is empty except the two of them. My son makes many attemps to break out of the room. The employee can't figure out why the kid won't just sit down and play with the toys and wait for his mom. Within about 5-10 minutes we tracked him down at Lost Children and he was rescued. He is 8 now and still vividly remembers the time he was "kidnapped".

Hopefully not too many people go the route of saying that ANYONE who says they are taking a child to their parents is lying and trying steal them!

For example ... in a car accident or some other medical emergency, it's entirely possible that a parent could be unconscious or otherwise disabled and a security guard or medical worker needs to get the child to "take them to their parents". Under your scenario above, your son would have thought he was being kidnapped. Even saying that he was "rescued" from the Lost Children room makes it sound like the Six Flags employee did something wrong. The employee probably could have been a bit more sensitive with your son, but it would have also been far less traumatic for your son if you'd explained the difference between "regular people" and "people with a nametag" or something like that. It's important for kids to understand that when they get lost in places like theme parks or shopping malls, there ARE people who are there to help them and not everyone is bad.

 

[disneyandme]

Thanks, everyone! That's pretty much how we've handled it in past years -- all committee chairs have radios and can communicate instantly, and we have a Guest Services location that has served as the place to bring wandering little ones. We wanted to formalize our procedures and were interested to hear what others are doing.

The worst case of lost parent we ever had was one year a parent basically "dropped off" her very small child at a booth run by a local art organization that was doing craft activities. Before anyone realized what she was doing, she disappeared for hours while she went had had some beers and listened to some music. When she finally showed up at lost and found for her child, she thanked us for watching him...hello???????

And don't get me started on all the various types of animals people try to smuggle in and how.....

I'm surprised the police weren't call in with a small child alone for hours.