Almost everyday, I can see from the newspapers that a child is reported missing. I think it is important to let your child be safety smart when he knows how to articulate his words.

My heart is aching as I type this down…. I lost Binbin in a shopping mall before. At that time, Binbin was only 26 months old. I was paying for his father’s birthday cake and when I was done, only Keatkeat was beside me.

Keatkeat was too busy looking at the cashier putting the cake in the box, he didn’t notice where or when did Binbin walked away.

We searched the entire basement 1 of Jurong Point Shopping Mall, I just refused to believe that Binbin would dare to go up the escalator on his own. I was fighting back my tears, my heart was pounding harder as I dashed in and out of every shop without any sight of Binbin.

I was just too “Ahhhhh…” that I didn’t even thought of going to the information counter to report the missing child. It was the security guard that grabbed my arm and said, “are you ok? Can I help?”, then I realised how flustered I was.

Immediately went to level one information counter and gave a full description of Binbin. Rushed back down to B1 to continue my search, its really not easy to find a kid that was only 0.8m tall on a busy Saturday in a shopping mall.

A few minutes later, my phone rang, the caller told me that my child was found and is waiting at the info counter.

My tears just flowed when I saw how hard Binbin was crying. Hugged him, kissed him and kept saying, “I love you very much, please hold my hands at all times…”

For kids below 4 years old, its good to write the parents phone numbers, at least, on a piece of paper and stuff it in his pocket or get a small tag, hang over his neck like a necklace.

For kids above 4 years old make them memorise you and your spouse’s handphone numbers and the home address. Teach him to use the telephone.

Let your child know that when he realise he is lost, he must stay exactly where he is and explained that it will be easier to look for him faster. Or inform a security guard, if he sees one, that he is lost.

Teach your child that other than the security guard, any other stranger who tries to coax your child to follow him, your child must yell, “I don’t know you, you are not my mother or father, go away!”

These tips are not excuses for parents to be inattentive to their children when they are outdoor, rather it pays to arm the child with these basic safety knowledge when emergency arise.