I was sitting in a large apartment lobby, waiting to go upstairs and meet a friend. A little girl, about 3 or 4, walked up to me and asked what book I was reading. We started a nice little chat, while I glanced around for her parent. There was a man that looked like he could be her dad on the other side of the lobby, maybe 50 feet away. I ask her if that’s her dad, she says yes. We keep chatting. Dad’s been on his phone. Then she asks what I’m doing in the lobby. I tell her I’m going upstairs to see a friend. She asks if she can come with me. I say let’s go talk to your dad. I gather her and my belongings and we go see dad, still glued to his phone. I introduce myself, explain why I’m there, and say that his precious baby girl just asked to go somewhere with a stranger. He looked blank for a second or two, then he looked like he saw a ghost. He sincerely thanked me, and I walked back to where I had been sitting. I could hear him talking to her, and then she started wailing. She was getting in trouble with dad. But dad was the one that dropped the ball. He didn’t teach her not to wander off and ask strangers to let them take her places. AND HE WASN’T WATCHING HIS OWN SMALL DAUGHTER IN A LARGE PUBLIC PLACE, with strangers and cars everywhere, with banks of elevators. She could have vanished in an instant, and never been seen alive again. That was a very, very creepy experience. Hold on to your kids. Watch them like hawks.
I was sitting in a large apartment lobby, waiting to go upstairs and meet a friend. A little girl, about 3 or 4, walked up to me and asked what book I was reading. We started a nice little chat, while I glanced around for her parent. There was a man that looked like he could be her dad on the other side of the lobby, maybe 50 feet away. I ask her if that’s her dad, she says yes. We keep chatting. Dad’s been on his phone. Then she asks what I’m doing in the lobby. I tell her I’m going upstairs to see a friend. She asks if she can come with me. I say let’s go talk to your dad. I gather her and my belongings and we go see dad, still glued to his phone. I introduce myself, explain why I’m there, and say that his precious baby girl just asked to go somewhere with a stranger. He looked blank for a second or two, then he looked like he saw a ghost. He sincerely thanked me, and I walked back to where I had been sitting. I could hear him talking to her, and then she started wailing. She was getting in trouble with dad. But dad was the one that dropped the ball. He didn’t teach her not to wander off and ask strangers to let them take her places. AND HE WASN’T WATCHING HIS OWN SMALL DAUGHTER IN A LARGE PUBLIC PLACE, with strangers and cars everywhere, with banks of elevators. She could have vanished in an instant, and never been seen alive again. That was a very, very creepy experience. Hold on to your kids. Watch them like hawks.