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Anyone else out there with an escape artist???
I had a horrible day Thursday with Matilda disappearing for 15 minutes in a busy public place... I still feel ill. Sometimes I blame my parenting and sometimes I blame my child... how do you cope? What do you do when you have to go out somewhere that they may run away?
Christy, Noah is my escape artist. He would run away at any given chance. One day he even got out and took Tehya with him. Scared the hell out of me.
Other than investing in a harness, which I am sure Matilda would go crazy at (the same as my kids) all you can do is keep a firm hold on them and a name tag with phone number, somewhere on them.
Noah would escape from home, one day he escaped from my BIL's, he was gone for about 40 minutes, in a neighbourhood neither he nor us knew. I ran around those streets, pregnant with Tehya nearly crying looking for him. He had gone around the street and was out the front of this mans house looking at the water feature. Thankfully the man was smart enough to keep him out the front and not take him inside to call the polivce, or we would never have spotted huim. It was so hard deciding between smacking him or cuddling him, he got the hug and a stern talking to.
There is no reason to blame your parenting hun, some kids are "just like that", believe me when I say that age will slow her down from doing it. It's not often now that Noah does a runner. Now it's Tehya's turn :(
Huge hugs for you huni, I know just how scarey it it :hug:
Thanks Trish, I knew you would see this ;)
We have a harness for her & sometimes I have her in the pram strapped in with the harness on. In fact, on Thursday I had her strapped in the pram until we got inside the park, then I let her go... I turned around to adjust Jovie & that was when she disappeared. I have resolved never to go anywhere she can escape without someone else with me... like DH. Otherwise its all enclosed parks for us or ones that aren't in hugely public places where there is the ability to disappear.
Seth is. He does it to everyone. Seth has escaped out the front door 3 times, once to Marc twice to me. 2 times he only got to the neighbours yard the 3rd time I couldn't find him and panicked then saw an elderly neighbour carrying him to her car she found him 4 doors down ringing someone's doorbell. I was in the toilet for maybe 5 minutes! Needless to say I have never forgotten to lock the front door since. And I consider myself to be a very responsible and cautious parent... So yeah I still beat myself up about it and about what *could* have happened.
He snuck out of the mcdonalds party room (through the legs of one of the serving girls) when my gf was babysitting him and took him to a party. Less than a minute and she realised what had happened. He was already near the fryers in the kitchen.
On Friday night Kelly went to get something out of her house, I was sitting in my car out front. And in a split second I see Seth at the front gate trying to go outside. She had a heart attack, as did I.
I think Seth will be in his stroller till his at school at this rate LOL!
I feel your pain girls, I really do. Its the most scary and horrible feeling. And for me it left me feeling like a failure... especially when I got the "How can you let your kid out of your house" look like I'm letting him play with knives and fire... and I just abandon him for hours at a time. Erm no. I was in the toilet. I got distracted the last time I brought wood inside and hadn't locked the door. The other two times the door hadn't been locked before bed (Its a deadbolt but he can open it so you need to lock it from the inside so he can't open it).
*mwa*
Cailin
Yeah we have to be a fortress here to make sure she stays in.
I was in the shower for the first time without someone else watching her or her being in with me earlier in the week & when I came out I found her trying to unlock the windows while in the window frame. We have old windows that when unlocked open outwards, so if she had gotten it unlocked she would have fallen out... we are in a raised house. Almost 3 meters off the ground... urgh.
Zeke isn't a runner, but he's a hider. I lost him for 10 minutes in Best & Less when he was 19 months old. He was hiding in a clothes rack amongst the ladies clothes. He plays really really well and plays to win. So he stood like a statue without making any sound for 10 minutes.... probably would have been there for longer had I not resorted to commando crawling through the aisles as a last resort yelling his name. I saw two little feet peeking out from summer dresses. He thought he was funny :rolleyes:
Well.... she learned how to unlock the windows today :( I went out of our bedroom to do something & came back & she was gone... luckily she ran around the block to the land behind ours where there are builders working. ah... I'll have to figure out how to get the windows to lock another way, there are already 2 locks on them.
OMG Christy, how scarey hun.
I think it's time for bars hun ;) Either that or you will have to tied Matilda's hands together. I think the scariest part is the waiting for her to escape with Jovie.
Noah has done that already to me with Tehya.
Huge hugs for you :hug:
Oh Christy hon! I totally understand. Fingers crossed you can find some good locks.
*mwa*
Cailin
wow, she really is good at her trade!!!! that's very scary for you, good luck at finding better locks but if there are 2 on already she might foil whatever you can find. maybe she was houdini in a previous life!
Julie x
OMG Christy, I just saw this thread! And she looks so innocent! No wonder you are so worried. I would be too scared to ever go to the toilet or shower again!
My little 'angel' is going to be exactly like this i swear!
A few months ago, he must have been around 14 months or something, he was playing in our front yeard. We have double driveway gates which were shut, and a side gate which has a childs latch up high. I had the front door open and we have big windows looking into the garden and i was sitting inside drinking a cup of tea and watching him play. I was looking at some junk mail, and i realised i hadn't heard him for like 2 mins.. We have a side area (which is very small) that i couldn't see, which would be right up his alley (very dark from ferns, and i'm sure spiders etc), so i went aorund to check.. he wasn;t there, then i ran back to the other side to see if he was hiding behind the carport, but i just knew somehow we was in the street..
He had managed to pull the driveway gates apart a tiny bit (he is soo strong, i can barely do it, and he managed to wedge himself through), so i run outside (no glasses on so i couldn't see so well), and i was standing there in absolute panick trying to work out which way to run, knowing if i made the wrong decision he could be hit by a car. There were the 2 directions up the street, and we are 2nd in from a cnr of another side street, so there were 2 directions there... I ran up to the cnr closest to us (the way we normally go), and saw him running down the hill in the centre of the road. He had run the 2 houses to the cnr, and down another 2 houses.. I just kicked off my slippers and ran for my life, jumping over things to get to him.. I didn't know whether to scream and him or cry (i think i did both)...
I haven't told anyone this, becuase i felt like such a bad mother, but i honestly was right next to where he was playing, and i barely took my eyes off him at all.. Now i know i can't let him literally out of my sight for a minute..Just writing this makes me get all anxious and feel shocking again!
He can reach the deadlock on our front foor, but there is a round door handle above it which he can't turn (although if we snib back the deadlock to go outside to the bin or somethings, he locks us out) - YET! I think we are going to have to get a latch put up high very soon... at my mums he goes and gets his chair and puts it in front of the door and can open it (but it opens in, so he can't get out cos his chair is there.. not long before he works out how to do it there and here!)... I am so worried - he is a very adventerious little boy who isn't afraid of anything... it terrifies me!
*hugs* Yael you are not a bad mother!!! I still have to remind myself of that all the time. You have an adventerous child. Thats why I started this thread, I needed to be reminded that it wasn't about me, but was about how we can help these little adventurers survive ;)
Should I share my story... it still leaves lumps in my throat.
*hugs*
Cailin
*hugs* Cailin :(
oh gosh you guys have got me scared. I guess I have all of this to look forward too. :(