You and your 3-year-old daughter are at a shopping centre; you pay the cashier and collect your purchase. You look down for your little girl and she is gone.

At first you casually call her name, but there is no reply.

You think that she may be playing a game of hide and seek and you look around the service counter. She’s not there.

Your call is louder and your voice has a tone of alarm in it. No response.

Frantic now, you start to think about the possibilities. You scan as you run. There is still no sign of your precious girl. 

It’s been only 3 minutes and you’ve imagined the worst. An abduction. What do I do?

Your mind is racing. You try to rationalise. I’ll ask for help. But who?

You approach the cashier at the service counter but she is annoyed at your interruption while dealing with another client. She tells you to wait your turn.

You see a red jumper bopping up and down in one of the mechanical toys on the far end of the shopping centre.

You run and with absolute relief you recognise your little girl. You seize her, wanting to hug her and cry at the same time.

Your situation had a happy ending. You were lucky.

More and more busy crowds are becoming an unavoidable part of our lives. It’s no wonder. We have more shopping centres, more events and more people than ever before.

Crowds are very much part of Asian culture, but this growing trend of crowds in the Western world is a relatively new phenomenon. Businesses like Event Management, Crowd control and security etc. are booming. Authorities who control these events understand that proactive action is necessary to optimise success and minimise disaster.

What are we as parents or caregivers doing to safeguard our families in this environment of ever-growing crowds?

Children getting lost in crowds are a common occurrence. However ask any parent who has lost a child, even if it was just for a few minutes, and they can recall their horror in detail as though it happened yesterday.

It’s important that we teach children preventative strategies for getting lost and also defensive strategies should they find themselves separated from their parents or care givers. Do this by putting together a plan that your whole family is sufficiently familiar with. Here are some guidelines.

Children do not always follow your instructions, but forewarned is forearmed.

• Know where your children are.

• Teach your children to always ask permission to go anywhere.

• Encourage your children to always keep within eyesight range of you.

• Teach children never to hide away from you when they are in a public place.

• When you arrive at your destination take some time to familiarize yourself and your family with the environment.

• Identify people who are appointed to help, like security and first aid posts. Identify their uniforms, if that is relevant.

• Identification is one of the most assumed and neglected elements of keeping our children safe. Children should aim to memorise their first and last names, their phone numbers and address. Of course this is not always possible. There is a great product on the market that does just this. An identity wristband that is attached to your child’s wrist. The Jellibeam Kidz iD Tagz is a single use, high quality PVC identification wristband that is designed to be worn around a child’s wrist so that the contact information of their parents or carer is readily available in case they are lost in a public place. (Usually a mobile phone number) They can only be removed from the child’s arm by cutting off the wristband.

• Have your mobile phone charged and with you. This will enable you to make and receive urgent calls while you remain mobile.

• Decide on a central meeting point should the family members find themselves separated.

• Do not allow your children to go to public toilets by themselves.

• Teach your children to follow their instinct.

• Carry current photographs of your children.

• Should your child have any medical condition, particularly those which need medication, like diabetes, be sure to advise the relevant authorities.

• If you do happen to loose a child, your first step should be to contact the person who can best arrange appropriate action. For example if you are in a large store, contact the store management who can help getting an announcement arranged that will also get the staff into action. The senior members of staff would also be more than familiar with the store layout. Ensure that the authorities you have made contact with have your mobile number.

• Be aware that it is a common misconception that one has to wait 24 hours to alert authorities of a missing person. If it is out of character for the person to be missing, an immediate response will be carried out.

• Stranger Danger is taught at school, but should be reiterated at home. Of course your toddler would not have had those very important lessons, so please make sure they too are aware of ‘Stranger Danger Rules’ In their book, The Complete Book of Child Safety, Drs Cohen & Kilham, & Prof Kim Oates say: Stay at least two arms’ lengths away from any stranger. Do not talk to strangers even if they know your name. Do not take anything from a stranger even if it is something at belongs to you. Do not ever go with a stranger even if the stranger says that he or she was sent by a parent or teacher to collect you.

• Make an effort to know all your children’s friends and their parents. Have their contact details handy.

• Children and Young people are three times more likely to go missing than adults.
• 86% of people who have gone missing are located in one week. With the majority being found within 24 hours.
• 99% of those reported missing are found.
• To find a missing person it costs the community and average of $2,360 per incident.

I hope the experience of losing a child never happens to you.

Natalie Fourie

• For further information on Missing Persons visit the website of National Missing Persons Unit in Canberra: