Father of the Year, or "Honey, I Lost the Baby"

[Service Staff Steve]

Early on in the day, I came out of the kitchen into the cafeteria to check on things. While there, I notice a baby girl in a carrier set down on the floor. At first, I didn't think much of it since this is a hospital and one of the nearby customers looked like she was the parent. Five minutes later, I go back, and the baby is still there, shit!

At this point, several of the other customers had also noticed said infant and glares were being passed around. Finally, one of the nurses decided to break the silence and loudly stated "whose baby is this!" Initially, no one made a move, double shit!

We then had to go through the cafeteria and talk to everyone until we came to a table with a man and his 6-7 yr old daughter. When he looked up at us, he immediately realized he was missing something and a look of shock came over him. This of course, was followed by a look of embarrassment as he took his baby girl out of the crowd and back to the table.

Apparently, he was so worked up with trying to control his older daughter that he set the baby down and just forgot it next to the salad bar. Now, I know parenting is hard and all, but you would think that after a minute it would hit him that something was missing. This guy should do a spot check next time, you know, wallet, keys, glasses... infant.

[Kristev]

He's a child endangerment issue waiting to happen.

[sirwired]

Really, this happens more than you think. There was an excellent article in the Washington Post a year or two ago about parents who accidentally left their kids in the car on a hot day, while, say, they went to work. In the highlighted cases, these were good, responsible, parents that simply got distracted and forgot. Some of them were prosecuted, although they were acquitted, and for good reason. (These parents were already broken husks; I'm not sure even jail would have been much worse.)

None of these were bad or stupid people, they just had a brain fart, and it happened to be one that resulted in the loss of their child... very sad.

SirWired

[Canarr]

This guy should do a spot check next time, you know, wallet, keys, glasses... infant.

Hey, you can always fail a Spot check... an infant should be Tiny in size, they get, what, +8 on their Hide check? Easy to miss...

But, seriously: sirwired is right. A normal mind can only keep track of so many things at once, and a baby in a carrier isn't really bigger than, say, a shopping bag.

[AnaKhouri]

Once at work this little girl came up and told me she was lost. We went to look around the store and found her father. He was reading...and was totally shocked that the girl wasn't beside him. He even turned around and looked behind him like he thought the kid whose hand I was holding was a doppelganger and his REAL daughter might still be right there. And he only had one kid to control!

So yeah, I can see getting distracted when you have one wild kiddie and one quiet baby, but he only had one, he was just too absorbed in his magazine to pay attention to her.

[LillFilly]

A normal mind can only keep track of so many things at once, and a baby in a carrier isn't really bigger than, say, a shopping bag.

That's true. And with these baby carry devices, slings, backpacks, babies are almost nothing more than accessories to some people!

We get lots of unattended kids at my mall, but no missing kids since I've been there. My last mall, it seemed like every other day we'd get a kid wander over telling us "my parents are lost!"

[Sheldonrs]

"...he set the baby down and just forgot it next to the salad bar..."

Excuse me! Is this baby fresh? I only eat fresh babies!"

[Shangri-laschild]

Doesn't make leaving your infant sitting around ok, but I wonder if maybe mom or a close family member is who they were visiting and he was especially frazzled and worried (if I understood correctly that this is in a hospital). Hopefully the realization that he left the kid will help him not forget any double checks in the future.

[Service Staff Steve]

I certainly understand that this happens to good parents all the time. Most likely this guy was distracted visiting someone in the hospital. I really just had to post it since this was an unusual situation for us. We have specific hospital procedures if any child is reported missing, but I am not aware of any guidelines to follow if an unaccompanied child is left alone.

[trunks2k]

Soon after I was born, my mom had to go change the tires on her car. So she took my brother (4ish), my sister (8ish), and I (newborn) to get them changed. She dropped the car off and started across the parking lot to go to a store (Bradlees I think). She got all the way across the parking lot then got the inkling something wasn't right. She then realized my brother and sister with her, but she didn't have me. So she went back to the garage and the car was up on the car lift. She tried to discreetly get them to get the car down without admitting what she had left behind. But they wouldn't bring the car down for her, basically saying "Lady, we got the car up there, you can wait a few minutes to get whatever it is you need", until she told them what she had actually left in the car.

[telecom_goddess]

Really, this happens more than you think. There was an excellent article in the Washington Post a year or two ago about parents who accidentally left their kids in the car on a hot day, while, say, they went to work. In the highlighted cases, these were good, responsible, parents that simply got distracted and forgot. Some of them were prosecuted, although they were acquitted, and for good reason. (These parents were already broken husks; I'm not sure even jail would have been much worse.)

None of these were bad or stupid people, they just had a brain fart, and it happened to be one that resulted in the loss of their child... very sad.

SirWired

I call bullshit. People who leave their kids in the car to fry in the heat ARE stupid. I have had 3 kids and not ONCE have they ever been left in a car alone for even a second. In the heat or any other thing. There is no excuse.

[Merriweather]

I call bullshit. People who leave their kids in the car to fry in the heat ARE stupid. I have had 3 kids and not ONCE have they ever been left in a car alone for even a second. In the heat or any other thing. There is no excuse.

I (almost - 98%) agree with you. Leaving the kids in the car long enough to cause them harm (which doesn't have to be a long time at all), sorry, no sympathy from me at all - if you are in charge of an infant, your mind has to be focused on that infant, you can't forget long enough to gather your things, lock up, go into work, and get on with your day. If you can forget you had the baby with you for even half an hour, you aen't focusing on that baby like you HAVE to be to provide decent care for that baby.

However, I do believe that most people have had a moment's brain burp and either closed the door or started to, before going, oops, the baby. And I do mean a moment, as in, barely even begin to walk off, if that. Or getting up from your table at lunch and beginning to walk away. That, I can understand, and forgive, baby is never truly out of your sight, but even that shouldn't happen often, or you just aren't as focused on that child to the extent that you need to be.

Some things ARE so intense and important that they have to be at the front of your mind at all times. You can look away from driving for a second, literally, (you do need to blink) but not a whole 2 minutes - attention IS that important. And you can forget you brought the baby for the minute it takes you to lock the car or get up from a table , but NOT longer, or you are endangering that child's life.

[depechemodefan]

I'm used to hearing stories of babies/kids left in the car. One that sticks in my mind is how mom forgot the kid was in the car, she was thinking dad had kid. Of course, the baby died.

I had a cw who had 8+ kids. She lost custody of some of the oldest. Her husband might have been working at the time. CW worked at Burger king. One day she didn't have anyone to watch the kids. So she drove to work and left the kids in the car, but she always had an eye out for them, always chekcing on them. But working, how much time did she really have for them? Cops were called, she lost custody of kids, I don't know if she ever got them back.

When she was working at the library her husband never worked. If he was home takking care of the kids, it was ok. But this woman kept on having kids and I remember at least 3 baby showers for her. After one baby I heard she took time to get her tubes tied, but she was pregnant soon after.

I have a bunch of stories about her (most of them not too nice).

[Aethian]

I remember one time at the Ionia Free Fair there was a page over the intercom, "James your son Brad is at the State Police post."

About five minuets later the same voice, "James your son Brad, 6, is at the State Police post."

Mom and I had shared a look...but alas this guy wasn't moving to fast.

"James your son Brad, age 6, is at the State Police post. He says he's telling Mom."

Mom and I giggle over this.

"James your son Brad has called his Mom. Please come to the State Police post, NOW."

Mom and I are cracking up now. By the time we wandered by the State Police post a woman was very irritated and standing outside of the post with a young boy next to her and a couple of the blue bears talking to her.

Someone else want to think that James was going to get more then a earful when he got home?

[sirwired]

I call bullshit. People who leave their kids in the car to fry in the heat ARE stupid. I have had 3 kids and not ONCE have they ever been left in a car alone for even a second. In the heat or any other thing. There is no excuse.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...022701549.html

I used to think as you do... read the article; you'll understand. These are not bad parents. They did not intend to leave their kids in the car at all, they simply had a horribly tragic brain-fart (usually a disruption in their routine, i.e. Mom, not Dad, normally drops the kids off at daycare on Tuesday) and forgot they were there entirely.

That's not to say that some parents aren't morons and leave kids in the car on purpose while they go shopping or whatever, (THAT should be, and is, criminal) but total accidents happen too.

SirWired