What parents should really do when a child goes missing in public

There is nothing more terrifying than losing a child – even if it’s just for a second. 

One mum has shared own experience, including how she used advice she spotted on Tik Tok to find her toddler who went missing.

“Today I lost my two-year-old for 10 minutes in Kmart,” the mum wrote on Facebook, adding, “It was the scariest 10 minutes of my life.”

The mum credits the video she saw and what she did next for her son being found so quickly. 

First she alerted the person at the door, described her son and asked them not to let him leave with anyone – even another adult. 

Watch the Tik Tok video below

@jesmartini

PSA that I feel can save kids and I’ve used- if your child goes missing in public #momsoftiktok #PSA #nojudgement #fyp #4up #besafe #parentsoftiktok

♬ original sound – Jess martini

Next she got loud, yelling out the description of her son so everyone could hear her. 

“If your child goes missing, screw the stares and start calling out their description,” she said.

So she says she started shouting, “I’m missing a little boy, he’s wearing a yellow shirt and has brown hair. He’s two years old and his name is Nathan.”

The mum walked around the store repeating this several times and soon lots of people were helping her look. 

“I had every adult around me on alert. They all threw aside what they were looking at and started searching too,” she said.

“I turned an aisle and heard, ‘He’s here!’ I turned back the way I came and there he was. A man had walked past him after hearing me calling out.”

“If I hadn’t have been calling out, that man would have had no clue that I was looking for Nathan,” she said.

“Nate would have walked past him and he wouldn’t have blinked.”

Now she has a message for other parents out there.

“So to all parents out there, if your child goes missing, do not search in silence or just call out their name.

“Shout out loud and clear. Say that they’re missing, give a description and repeat, repeat, repeat!”