Keep the little ones close

As a nana, I know too how hard it is to keep track of 3 very active little boys and how quickly they can run off. When camping with us, I give them little jobs to help set up and in most cases I'm able to keep a closer eye on them.

My heart too goes out to this family as Monday would have been this little girls 2 yr birthday.

I can still remember it like it was yesterday (even though it happened over 30 yrs ago) and it scared the life out of me, DW and all our neighbors. DW, 5 yr old daughter Stephanie and I were home on an ordinary weekend doing things families do on weekends. Suddenlly DW came into the room and asked me "where is Stephanie?" I told her I thought she was with you and it was on. We started calling her name and going through the house looking in closets, bathrooms, etc; she was nowhere to be found. We then thought she might have sneaked outdoors (which she never did without us) to play in the back yard. Our neighbors saw us acting oddly I guess and by twos and threes came over to see what was going on. After a few minutes, the whole block was looking for Stephanie, including a deputy sheriff. After what seemed an eternity DW decided to make one more sweep through the house and she found Stephanie asleep in her bedroom on the floor between her bed and the wall; a very narrow opening. I had to laugh and cry at the same time over the irony of having searched the house multiple times and not seeing her. It really brought it home to us that no matter what you do, how diligently you watch, the little ones can vanish in the blink of an eye.

Thoughts and prayers are with this family. Children are so very fast that they can be gone within a minute. When my son was 4, we finished eating outside. I took the dishes into the pop-up, laid them down, went out and he was gone. The neighbor across told me immediately that DS had ridden his big wheel up the hill. I ran after him terrified. I always thought I was overly careful and it still happened. Needless to say big wheel was locked and DS spent a great deal of time sitting on his bed - and I will admit with a rather warm bottom.

You can't keep them close enough IMHO. Similar thing happened in Cedar Creek near Strasburg VA last week, but I haven't seen any follow-up to determine if it was an accident or kidnapping. We have a seven year old who likes to walk out the front door unattended when no one's looking, and we've had black bears around the house and even on the front porch. Wouldn't want one of the kids surprising one, especially if with cubs.

I don't judge.

It doesn't necessarily have to be negligence "turning their kids loose" as much as the more common "I thought YOU had the baby!" problem that arises when you are away from your norm, setting up, perhaps around friends and extended family. Someone thinks Grandma has the child and grandma thinks junior is with Uncle Joe, for example.

We have camped for years with a large group of friends all of us with children and one thing we drilled into EVERYONE was the need to confirm - to the point of ridiculousness - who had the children and where. No one can "assume" that the child is safely with someone else. We need to KNOW that grandma, aunt Judy, or someone else has the kids. We think that when "everyone" is around to mind the child they are safer when, in reality, "everyone" can mean "no one" if no single person realizes they are responsible at that moment. When child minding duties are transferred back - even across a campsite - there needs to be eye contact and verbal confirmation among adults "Dan you have the baby? I'm going to shower," etc.

My heart and prayers go out to this family. No judgment. Just prayer for comfort and mercy in their loss.

This is such a shame, and so many parents are guilty of just turning the kids loose once they get to the campground. Unfortunately, most will probably think that it won't happen to their little ones.