Not long ago I asked if you let your young children play outside by themselves. Most of you said that you didn’t let them go outside without supervision.
Well, how about when you’re out shopping at the mall?
I make David stay right next to me, and never let him out of my site. Wade isn’t walking yet, so if someone isn’t holding him he’s in the stroller. The stroller is always right next to me too, even if I’m digging through racks.
I was shocked when I was at the mall recently, and saw two women eating lunch in the food court while their kids ran all over the seating area. The children were younger than David, maybe two or three. They disappeared completely out of site and hearing range for several minutes at a time more than once.
I was worried about the children and kept watching them. But their mothers just sat chatting, paying no attention to them.
I also was surprised by the number of moms who left their babies and toddlers alone at tables while they stood in line and ordered food. Their backs were turned to the kids most of the time, and they were quite a distance from them as well.
I know it’s hard to juggle a stroller or hold a kid’s hand and carry a tray full of food all at the same time. But I have done it many times.
(Here’s a hint. Ask for it to go even if you’re eating there. It’s easier to carry a bag of food than a tray with one hand.)
Maybe I’m paranoid, but I’ve heard way too many stories about how it really does take only a second for a child to disappear.
I’ve even heard stories of kids snatched from shopping carts in parking lots while their moms loaded groceries into the car. I always put the kids in the car first. Then I load my goods.
Maybe I’m paranoid. Maybe I’m over-protective. Maybe I don’t have enough faith in my fellow human kind.
Or maybe I just have common sense.
Am I the only one who worries about this stuff? Do you keep a close watch on your kids when you’re out in public?
I don’t think that you’re paranoid at all. I am totally with you on this one. If I am out somewhere and my hands are full I make my children hold on to my shirt etc. There is no way that they’re getting out of my site. It only takes a spit second for someone to snatch them! You mentioned the mall. One thing that has always amazed me at our mall is the children who wander away from the play area….and are found walked through the mall all alone in their stocking feet. There is only one entrance/exit. I mean how hard is it to watch that one opening to be sure your child isn’t leaving. I’m the mom who stakes her claim on the bench right beside it! lol
You are not the only one. I was one of the ones that let the kids play outside on their own, but I can always here them (you don’t want 2 boys to be quiet at any time it’s never good!), and they can’t get out and others can’t get in. So I know they are fairly safe, except from each other.
When we are out….well that’s different. They are not out of sight. If I have to turn my eyes from them, I always have my hands on them or the cart. The I always have them strapped in. Now that i have the baby in the car seat, I usually use the double-stroller, b/c i worried that if I was paying attention to something, someone could walk up and take the carrier right out of the cart and run away. So I put him and my middle one in the stroller, where they are strapped in and I am touching it. Then with the older one, he knows that if he so much as thinks of stepping away from Mommy we will drop what we are doing and leave. I don’t care what it is, I have walked out with out presents I needed, and called my hubby at work b/c we were going that night for a party. So he had to stop on the way home.
As for the food court, when I have the boys on my own there is no way I am stopping at the food court LOL! I have done it with 2, but 3 is just insanity. So I usually just make sure it won’t be a meal time when I have to go, and then I will hit the drive thru on the way home if we are hungry. I have even stopped in the parking lot to eat it, much easier with them strapped in their seats, and if I have to feed the baby it is easier than in those uncomfortable seats.
You are not paranoid at all. I can completely relate. I see moms all the time chatting away and their children running around. I even have a friend that does the same thing. She looks at me like I am crazy when I make my 5 year old hold my hand and my 13 year old within eye sight when we are out anywhere. We live in a city that was voted safest city in the US several time but that doesn’t make the possibility of someone snatching my kids so my motto is that if there is anything I can do to prevent anything like from happening, I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure that nothing happens. There are some things in our control and some that are not but I don’t take for granted that at all. You are being a good mom when you protect your children:)
As a parent you can never be too overprotective. My kids are always near me when we go in public. I would never let them roam by themselves. NEVER! Too many things happen now days. TOO MANY!
that is why i dont shop alone with jackjack. he’s the type of kid who struggles to let go of your hand to explore the mall.
a little paranoia doesnt hurt, in my opinion. it’ll keep us on our toes…
I have been half way in between. Sometimes I left the stroller in one spot and roved between racks on auto-pilot – quickly realizing that stroller (& money) is out of sight. But then at the docks (next to the water that is over their heads and digusting) I insist that even the 9 year old hold hands with somebody. I don’t go there without enough adult to child hands. I AM scared of the water. I am NOT scared of the public. But then when I act as if I’m not scared of the public, I get sick to my stomach, immediately thinking that for that one second I was looking at a t-shirt, someone snatched up the youngest (now 4). I waffle between mother guilt, and my frayed nerves. I’m okay with this philosophy I think – because it lets them be independant (when my nerves are fried), and it keeps them safe (when I’m steeped in mother guilt) – evens out, don’t you think? 🙂
ummmm…..eyes on children at all times. i’m not a “helicopter parent” by any means, but there’s a difference between smothering your kids and being smart about watching your kids. i live in a small town where most people know me, my children, my parents, my best friend…you get the idea…and i STILL keep my kids in viewing distance.
and leaving your baby in a stroller at the table while you leave to stand in line for food? you may as well put a sign on them that says, “kidnap me please”.
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Dude…SO exactly the same as you and don’t care if others think I am paranoid! Boo Boo is four and I let her get a LITTLE distance, but not out of sight!!! NEVER EVER>
Not paranoid. Just good common sense, which we are seeing less and less of these days.
this is exactly how i am too. peanut who will be 4 this summer doesn’t even know that she can walk in the store because i make her ride in the cart. i even use those obnoxious “car” carts so she is strapped in and right with me. if she has to walk beside the cart when we leave b/c of the bags, i make her hold my hand or a part of the cart. i don’t believe it’s paranoid. this is the world we live in and we are responsible for our kids and their safety. it is better to be safe than sorry.