A young boy just walked up to my door.

[The_Final_Stand]

I was walking around my house, having just finished dinner, when I become aware of someone crying nearby. As crying is not a sound I have been familiar with for a few years, I was curious, and went to investigate.

As it turns out, a little boy, around 5 years old, maybe, had gone for a walk by himself, and gotten lost. He came up and knocked on my door, and said he was looking for his dad, who'd apparently gone for a run.

As having weeping 5 year olds on my doorstep is not a familiar situation, I considered calling the police, but reconsidered since I had no idea how they or the family would react. So I figured I'd go out and try to help him find his dad.

After locking up, we set off down the road, and I try to talk to him to keep his mind off the fact that he's lost. It seems to work. Eventually, his mother comes up behind us, predictably worried sick. After she chews him out a bit, and thanks me for not calling the police we walk back up, make light conversation (she was finding his sister so that she could see their dad come back from his run too), and go our seperate ways. Turns out they only live a few doors up from us, so it's not a long walk by any means.

And that's basically it. I'm curious if there was something else I should have done, or if anyone else has had a similar situation, and so on.

[Zherog]

In that exact spot, I actually think I would've called the police. You did well to distract the boy, though, and keep his mind off things.

[Maxios]

I would have called the po-po, but you did well.

[razark]

I did call the police.

I was leaving one day, and saw a small child, maybe four or five, walking down the street. There was an elderly man, who lived down the street following him, watching. I talked to him, and he said he had seen the kid walking down the street, and didn't know who he was or where he had come from. The kid wandered down a couple of houses, walked up a driveway and into a garage. We tried to talk to him as he was walking, but he wouldn't speak to us. Knocked on the door, spoke to the homeowner, she had no idea who the kid was either. I called the police, waited around until they showed up, gave them my information and headed out. Never heard anything else about it.

In this case, where the child wouldn't speak, there wasn't much else to do except call the police. The elderly man said there was a family nearby that took in foster children, and we thought he might have come from there, but wasn't sure.

[Lady Moreta]

I probably would have done both... well, I would have first asked the kid if they knew where they lived or knew a phone number (okay, so a five year old probably wouldn't know, but it's still worth asking) - or if they knew anything about where their family was. If they did, I'd ring/take them home/go with them to wherever the family was. If they didn't know any of those things, or we tried them and failed, then I'd ring the police.

I don't think you did anything wrong though - you did exactly what I would have done and was fortunate enough that everything worked out and you didn't have to involve the cops.

[MonkeyBusiness]

Moreta, your comment made me recall how, when I was in Kindergarten, we were made to memorize our full names, addresses, and telephone numbers. My teacher quizzed us. And as a result ... I can *still* remember my phone number and address from that year! :smallbiggrin:

Being confronted with a small, crying child is unnerving. When in doubt, you can also call the police non-emergency number. They will probably tell you what to ask the kid, and send help only if it's needed. But it sounds like you did well, Final Stand.

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[Lady Moreta]

Moreta, your comment made me recall how, when I was in Kindergarten, we were made to memorize our full names, addresses, and telephone numbers. My teacher quizzed us. And as a result ... I can *still* remember my phone number and address from that year! :smallbiggrin:

And I can remember my parents trying in vain to get me to memorise our phone number at the time. Didn't help that while we lived in that house, phone numbers went from five numbers to six numbers - all the 11-12 years we lived in that house, I never remembered the number.

And just now? 17-18 years later - I just rattled it off no problems. I have no idea how that happened. I have a hard enough time remembering my current home phone number!

[Juggling Goth]

Moreta, your comment made me recall how, when I was in Kindergarten, we were made to memorize our full names, addresses, and telephone numbers. My teacher quizzed us. And as a result ... I can *still* remember my phone number and address from that year! :smallbiggrin:


Yeah, my karate teacher's doing a similar thing - she makes the kids in the 'Little Dragons' class memorise their parents' phone numbers and tests them on it. It seems sensible.


Being confronted with a small, crying child is unnerving.

Very true. And I'm mostly not good with kids - I tend to regard them as small alien life forms. I've had to sit with my ex-neighbours' kid after we found her crying on the doorstep - the useless idiots went out and left her home alone, and she found a mouse in the house and freaked out. And I used to work in a tourist attraction, so I used to find lost kids occasionally. (I just used to sit them down and radio the reception desk to put a call out for their parents to come and get them.) You did fine, OP.

[North_Ranger]

I called the police as well.

A few years back I was walking home from the supermarket when I noticed that there was this five-, six-year-old kid standing on the sidewalk and crying. He was black, which in Finland is an almost ninety-percent sure mark of him being an immigrant, and a lot of people were just walking by.

I stopped and bent down (my knee is rather bad so I couldn't kneel) so I could look the kid in the eye at his level, and asked what was wrong. He apparently didn't understand Finnish, so I tried again in English and in French. He said something while constantly crying, but I couldn't understand a word. I looked around and saw no one looking for him, so I decided to try and help. I gave him a popsicle from my grocery bag and called the police, informing them of the situation. I was told a car was on its way, and I was asked to wait until it arrived.

Not five minutes later a woman dressed in the supermarket's employee uniform comes to me and asks if the child is with me. I explain the situation to her, and she says that the child's mother is at the supermarket, looking for her child. I manage to tell the kid to go with the nice lady, and then call the police, telling them the situation has been resolved.

I don't know if I was of much help, but a crying child just isn't something I can just walk past.

[grimbold]

i've only ever been the lost little boy... but i think if i was in that situation i would immediately look for a more knowledgable seeming person to help out

also
north ranger speaks french, he now has my approval :)

[MonkeyBusiness]

north ranger speaks french, he now has my approval :)

North Ranger has my approval, too, but not because he speaks French. (Though he does get cool points for that.)

I can picture him, with his bad knee and a bag of groceries, feeding this crying kid a popsicle and patiently trying to communicate, while the rest of the world rushes past, ignoring them. Makes me happy.

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[Eldariel]

I just walked the kid to the railroad station, where their family had apparently been going. And did run into a very worried mother. Granted, the kid I was talking to was Finnish so communication was no problem, but still.

You did what I would've probably done too, OP. I personally don't like to bother the police unless necessary; if I can reunite the kid with his parents without any extra hassle, I'll do just that (provided the case is as simple as the kid merely being lost).


Oh, and phone numbers? I still remember not only our own and my parents' work numbers but also 11 of my friends' phone numbers from childhood (I'm guessing they aren't in use anymore) and my grandparents'. Granted, this is mostly because I used to call a lot and our phone had no memory so I had to type the numbers every time.

Out of our current numbers I only remember mine and my parents' numbers by heart; mobiles really erode that skill due to the ease of point'n'click.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Happend to me a couple of weeks ago.

Was at one of the biggest hippie festivals of europe, saw a little boy walking alone, looking lost and very sad.

Walked up to him, asked him what was wrong and then distracted him.
Was going to bring him to the information/security stand, but while walking there he eventually managed to tell me that he knew a particular standholder who would take care of him and call his parent. So I brought him there and everything was cool.:smallsmile:

[THAC0]

Phone numbers... apparently many middle schoolers no longer know their house number. Because it's just programmed into their cell phones.

[Diva De]

Moreta, your comment made me recall how, when I was in Kindergarten, we were made to memorize our full names, addresses, and telephone numbers. My teacher quizzed us. And as a result ... I can *still* remember my phone number and address from that year! :smallbiggrin:

I make my sons randomly repeat our phone number to me. My older one has our address memorized too, so there is ZERO chance of losing him. :smallmad: totally kidding

I have recovered lost children on a couple of occasions. Fortunately, these tend to be at big Scouting family camp-outs, so it's usually a matter of asking who their brother is.

That being said, I found lost kids at amusement parks twice. Being a mom, working at a school, and being a Scout leader...and being fluffy and generally affable...make me less terrifying to strange children. And it helps to know how to talk to them.

In all cases, parents were found within 15 minutes or so - easy peasy. Also, pro points for distracting him. Otherwise, they tend to get too upset to do anything but cry.

[RandomNPC]

I've never been in the situation, lost or finding someone lost, but that's the kind of thing I'd skip out on any plans for, to make sure the child was taken care of.

We've got a hidden camera show called "What would you do?" I don't know if it's local or national tv, but when they did a lost kid one they did it four times, and took more that a half hour to get someone to stop 3 out of 4 times.

I don't agree with the shows advice, most of it seemed geared towards pedobear jokes more than something being helpful or not. Like snacks, a child should turn down food from a stranger, but if a kid says they're hungry, and I happen to have something to snack on, they can have it.

[Lady Moreta]

Phone numbers... apparently many middle schoolers no longer know their house number. Because it's just programmed into their cell phones.

I have that trouble sometimes and I'm not in middle school... though for me it's mainly because I just don't call my own house that often. It's only me and my husband and we're usually together anyway... and if not, it's usually that we're out/he's out and mobiles are the way to go.

I did, however, make a point of memorising my home number, because I got sick of being embarrassed when I had to admit I didn't know it. Not that anyone was making me feel bad (everyone in fact, seemed to be in exactly the same boat) but I felt stupid.


I have recovered lost children on a couple of occasions. Fortunately, these tend to be at big Scouting family camp-outs, so it's usually a matter of asking who their brother is.

One of the smartest 'don't lose your kid' things I've ever seen is at a large sporting even I've been to a few times. One version had small kids wearing t-shirts that said "if found, please call..." and a mobile number. Other kids just had a parent's mobile number written on their arm. These were little little kids though - the few I saw wouldn't have been older than three - and they were away from home and everything familiar, so having something like that I imagine would be even more important in such a situation.

[Helanna]

I'd say it's a good thing you didn't call the police. One of my coworkers just had to go through a Child Protection Services investigation because somebody found her 3-year-old outside. Apparently she had fallen asleep on the couch, her recent ex came in to get some stuff, and the door didn't close properly and her son got out. Apparently here it's standard procedure to launch a short CPS investigation when a child is found on the street.

[Xallace]

I worked for the Auxiliary Police force on my campus for a little while (read: I was a rent-a-cop), and we had to cover lost children, lost pets, lost grandparents, all sorts. Mostly we'd keep the child (pet, grandparent) calm and radio in to HQ in case the parents (owners, children) talked to another officer. Then we'd just hang around until they showed up.

There were a couple more frightening instances, though. Myself and another officer had to rescue a kid from getting trampled by horses once. We spotted the little guy as his description was coming over the radio, climbing into an ongoing horse-jumping competition. :smalleek:

That same day we got a call over the radio that "an entire group of senior citizens [had] gone missing."

Never heard the resolution to that one.

[Maelstrom]

That same day we got a call over the radio that "an entire group of senior citizens [had] gone missing."

Never heard the resolution to that one.

They're OK, they just took a trip over to Antarea and are now living happily ever after....





Ah, 80's movies :smallbiggrin:

[Traab]

Phone numbers... apparently many middle schoolers no longer know their house number. Because it's just programmed into their cell phones.

Im 30 and I dont know my home phone number. I USED to know it, but we got it turned off for a couple years, (we all have cell phones and nothing but bill collecters call our house) Then we got it turned back on as part of a bundle package and I programmed it into my cell phone. I DO know the cell numbers of everyone I need to talk to however.

[Lady Moreta]

That same day we got a call over the radio that "an entire group of senior citizens [had] gone missing."

Never heard the resolution to that one.

That's disappointing... I really want to know! :smallbiggrin:

[denthor]

I used to babysit I am five foot four inches male with dark brown hair (5' 4")tall the "baby" was a four foot (4') blonde at six years old. People would walk up to her and ask are you all right? Do you need help?

This would happen at gas stations the police would ask at a traffic stop. One time I was taking her to her mothers job. The security there watched us on video and called down to the phone where we waited and spoke to the other employees to have us nicely detained.

So you did the right thing by waiting for a little bit before calling the police.

[blackfox]

I was apparently the kid at one point in time. When I was 2, I decided I was pissed right off at my parents, and slipped out the door and ran off down the sidewalk. I was quickly stopped by an older (12, 13) neighbor and returned to my rather annoyed parents, who had followed me out the door.

I've run into a couple lost children at various places; most recently, at a large zoo in a large city, where my family and I came upon a little girl who couldn't have been older than 18 months or so kind of standing around looking fearful and not saying anything when my mother tried to talk to her. Within 5 minutes her hysterical father ran up, at which point both of them started crying.

[ewomack]

Hm... I wouldn't call the police unless the kid seemed hurt or I couldn't locate his parents. As someone said above, parents can get in a fix over something as minor as a toddler wandering off inadvertently... of course if I kept seeing the kid wandering around and crying repeatedly...

[Xallace]

That's disappointing... I really want to know! :smallbiggrin:

Haha, isn't it? I asked some of my coworkers later and they hadn't heard anything. I'm sure they were fine. ...I hope they were fine. :smalleek:

[Temotei]

Moreta, your comment made me recall how, when I was in Kindergarten, we were made to memorize our full names, addresses, and telephone numbers. My teacher quizzed us. And as a result ... I can *still* remember my phone number and address from that year! :smallbiggrin:

Being confronted with a small, crying child is unnerving. When in doubt, you can also call the police non-emergency number. They will probably tell you what to ask the kid, and send help only if it's needed. But it sounds like you did well, Final Stand.

.

I had my phone number memorized in preschool and my address done by kindergarten, but only because of me mum.

[Bill Murphy]

Call the police. But request that you stay on the phone with the dispatcher until the police show up. This way there is an audio witness to your interation with that child. You never know what the parrents or the child are like. The movie "The Good Son" comes to mind. Or maybe the parrents are abusive and want to blame someone for their child's new bruise marks.

Sorry to sound so cynical but all it takes is once false accusation to have the way people think of you change forever.

[Eldariel]

Call the police. But request that you stay on the phone with the dispatcher until the police show up. This way there is an audio witness to your interation with that child. You never know what the parrents or the child are like. The movie "The Good Son" comes to mind. Or maybe the parrents are abusive and want to blame someone for their child's new bruise marks.

Sorry to sound so cynical but all it takes is once false accusation to have the way people think of you change forever.

Would you do that even if the child told you he's lost and looking for a way home?

[The Glyphstone]

Would you do that even if the child told you he's lost and looking for a way home?

Yes, because it's not the child you're worried about more often, it's the parents. I think more of Harry Dresden's backstory than The Good Son, but the cultural precedent is there to make it a possibility.

[Bill Murphy]

Would you do that even if the child told you he's lost and looking for a way home?

I would recommend being on the phone with the cops before you even open the front door.

Cops are hired to protect the people. Not arrest parrents for losing track of where their child is playing. My first interest would be to help the child. Not to worry about if the parrents might get embarrassed that the local police were called to help return their lost child.

This is how I suggest helping a child you don't know.
My local police department has suggested the same in the past when dealing with a lost child.

[Bouregard]

Phone numbers... apparently many middle schoolers no longer know their house number. Because it's just programmed into their cell phones.

mhmm time to take them to the tatoo shop... what do you say front and center or agent 47 style in the neck? And is there enough space for.. "If lost, please return to... Reward: $5"? Still sounds more moral then the child leash they like to sell these days.


My parents explained to me that when I can't find them that I should stay in one place and wait for them to find me. Also they made it a game to remember the complete adress and phone number, and if asked for either with me present, they always let me name it.

[Aliquid]

Another issue you might want to consider.... (if you are male)

Imagine a mother notices that her little boy is missing. She goes down the street in a mild panic, looking for him, and sees her boy walking down the street with a strange man. She *might* jump to the conclusion that you are a pervert trying to lure her child away (and that's why he went missing in the first place)

Most mothers wouldn't jump to a conclusion like that, but some would... and you do not want to be in that situation.

If you called the cops first, and then helped the kid, you wouldn't have to worry about defending your intentions.

[Aliquid]

Still sounds more moral then the child leash they like to sell these days.

"These days"? Child leashes are nothing new. I know someone whose parents used one on him 40 years ago. (He doesn't seem to hold any resentment towards them or have any issues)