Anonymous wrote:What about leaving your kids, age 3 and 5, alone for 10 minutes at a Caps game while you go to get popcorn?

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Are you kidding me? Of course not.

Do you all let your 7 year old walk to school? Just thinking if the answer is, yes, how much safer or more dangerous is that versus being separated by a couple of aisles in a store?

Anonymous wrote:If you don't give your child a little reign, it will be much more difficult for them when they find themselves alone. Seven is plenty old enough to go to another aisle alone. Yes, bad things can happen, but they can in any situation. This is entirely out of the ordinary, and the parents had let the kid learn enough that she dealt with it well. If you keep your kids tethered to you, they will have know idea hw to protect themselves when they are not.

Have you been in Walmart? Grocery is nowhere near toys. That was not just an isle or two over. That was across the store.

OP, Thank you for posting this. It helped me get the point across to DH that he was wrong to leave our 7 year-old son at one store in the mall while going to another with our younger daughter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: have started allowing my 8.5 yo DD to help me with shopping by going off on her own in the grocery store to find things in one aisle while I find things in other aisles. She's very mature, educated about stranger danger, etc. It has been very hard for me to lengthen the apron strings a little and give her some freedom. Now I wonder if I am doing something wrong

Personally, I think we have to allow our children experiences like this to gain confidence and independence as they get older. I think the key, in a case like this, is to remain aware. You need to know exactly where you sent your daughter, let her know exactly where you will be, tell her you will come looking for her in 2/3/4/5 minutes if she's not back with the item she went to get. I do this with my 8 year old son too. I send him to grab a tomato in the produce section while I'm perusing the meats. There is risk involved but, like a lot of parenting situations, a little risk is required so the children grow. YMMV.

I clearly remember my mom allowing me to go on my own to the grocery store to grab a few things when I was around this little girl's age. My parents always gave me freedom and the tools to enjoy it.

Just a few years ago I learned though that my mom would follow behind me to make sure I was safe. Same thing my dad would do the first few years after I started driving. He'd go after me and make sure the place was safe and drive back home behind me. I never noticed!!!! His car was always home when I arrived Smart daddy!

This brought tears to my eyes. I have to say that I am most comfortable with this approach. I don't think young children should be out of an adult's sight.

I've done this.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't show the video or tell the story even to my child, age 6, but I will say, if a stranger tries to grab you or touch you, shout "this is not my mommy," etc.
My son is really soft-spoken and I really wonder if he would have done what this girl did. I will be having the talk tonight!

You know, it's not a bad idea to practice, and really get your kids to try yelling as loudly and clearly as they can. When my son was that age, we'd role play a bit, too, and talk scenarios.

I just showed my kids (6, 8 & 10). Thanks for posting.

Mine are similar ages & I'm showing it to them too.

Yet another released criminal who should have remained incarcerated.

What about leaving your kids, age 3 and 5, alone for 10 minutes at a Caps game while you go to get popcorn?

Wow. I am to blame for letting my son play in the "boy" toy section while I'm looking at the pink stuff with my daughter. Usually it's an aisle or two over and I keep calling out his name. No more.

He's 6 and I'll be showing him the video. I'd rather him be scared than someone trying to steal him.

This is so scary.

How many parents are showing this to your child?

If you don't give your child a little reign, it will be much more difficult for them when they find themselves alone. Seven is plenty old enough to go to another aisle alone. Yes, bad things can happen, but they can in any situation. This is entirely out of the ordinary, and the parents had let the kid learn enough that she dealt with it well. If you keep your kids tethered to you, they will have know idea hw to protect themselves when they are not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man tries to carry off second grader. She screamed and kicked, and he put her down and ran off. Thankfully, they got the guy in custody!

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/parenting-26594265/little-girl-fights-off-abductor-in-walmart-28242481.html

Thank goodness this child is all right but her mother bears the fault. Who, in their right mind, leaves a 7 yr. old to "play" in the toy aisle while you go two aisles over and you can't see your child. She bears the blame and if I were her DH, I would raise holy hell for doing something this stupid and dangerous and it would be a cold day in hell before she would take her out again.

Some moms leave their kids to "play" in the children's area of bookstores while they go in an entirely different store. Happens all the time..

B/c they are stupid. My oldest is 7 and I am constantly explaining that I always need to be able to see him in a store or any public place. I wouldn't show kids this video to make a point; you might terrify them. My kid may think I'm a pain now, but someday he will undrstand.

I just showed my kids (6, 8 & 10). Thanks for posting.

I think kids need the experience of being able to walk around independently but it needs to be balanced with safety. I see nothing wrong with letting an 8+ yr old go to the next aisle in the grocery store to pick up one product -- if they have specific instructions to walk straight there and back, if they don’t return in x minutes, you’re walking to that aisle etc. After all, if they started screaming, you’d hear them if you were in the next aisle. Not to mention, I'd do this while the store was relatively busy, as there would likely be plenty of adults like the posters here who would notice a content 8 yr old picking up a box of cereal one moment who then started screaming as he was carried against his will; a criminal would not choose such an aisle where he’d have to navigate through the bunch of people/carts to get the kid out. In contrast, to let your kid wander in some other department of a store or hang out in the kids section of B&N alone while you are off getting coffee on the other side of the floor is insane. I also find that certain sections of WMT/Target are always pretty empty -- automotive, toys -- esp in the middle of the week, gardening, fitting rooms which are often way in the back etc. Someone could easily wander off with a child there and be unnoticed, as the one shopper who is absentmindedly wandering the automotive aisles may not even notice, may assume that it’s just a kid throwing a tantrum with their dad, or may not want to get involved being that they’re all alone.

I'd gladly be called a helicopter over having my kid snatched.