Mom's Popular Tip For Finding A Missing Child In Public Is Working For Parents

May 11, 2021 by apost team

Every parent's worst nightmare is losing their child somewhere. Whether it's in a public place that's bustling with others or even somewhere less busy, the split second in which a parent can't see their kid is truly soul-shaking. 

And there's no doubt that it's an incredibly common occurrence to parents the world over, but unfortunately, there is still such a stigma to any parenting mistakes that people often feel judged if they do anything that is perceived as wrong. However, if there was less stigma around parenting mistakes in general, people would be more vocal if they were worried they'd lost their child, even if just for a moment, and it could literally save lives.

Taking matters into her own hands, one mother named Jess Cakmakli uploaded a short video to TikTok in Nov. 2020 giving a very simple yet incredibly effective tip for parents if this situation should ever happen to them. She explains that the best thing to do is to look for the child loudly, not silently, if you think you've lost them. This includes shouting loudly that you are looking for your child, a brief description of them, and what they are wearing that day. 

Cakmakli claims it truly works and ever since she posted her video, it's gone viral. Other parents are clearly big fans, as others have reached out and commented on how it's helped them in a moment of absolute panic. The reason it works so well is that it means there are many people helping to look for a child and not just the parent, but it could even throw off anyone who might be trying to kidnap them. 

Every parent is unique in how they choose to raise their child. And while they always want the best for their children, it's inevitable that sometimes mistakes occur. One extremely common example is when parents momentarily lose their children in a public place, be it in a mall, amusement park, or a crowd outdoors. 

Usually, in situations such as this, the parent might panic internally, but externally they are worried about being judged by others. So what they might do is remain silent as they begin frantically looking for their child. Often they've just wandered a few feet out of their line of vision, but sometimes they might be in a completely different part of the store. The point is this is a completely normal occurrence and it happens to everybody.

In a bid to help parents in such a situation, one TikTok user named Jess Cakmakli uploaded a video in which she describes to parents exactly what they should do if this ever happens to them. She begins the video by stating:

"If your child ever goes missing, God forbid, in a public place, because remember, these things happen to even the best parent. If you're in an amusement park, zoo, mall, whatever it is, and you look around and your child is no longer with you, what you wanna do is start looking loudly for them. Do not start silently looking for them, you want to look loudly."

As Cakmakli told Insider:

"It happens all the time. It takes two seconds for a kid to get distracted and walk away." 

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In the TikTok video, Cakmakli then explains exactly how it sounds to look loudly for your child, using as an example:

"I’m looking for a boy, age 5, short brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian, red Nike T-shirt, black shorts.”

As she points out, the strategy instantly alerts everybody nearby that a child is missing and gets everybody looking for your child and not just you. She elaborates that the best-case scenario is that somebody finds your kid and returns them to you, but the worst-case scenario is if somebody was actually trying to walk away and kidnap your child, they'd more than likely let them go as they wouldn't want the commotion around them.

It's a genius strategy that is incredibly simple but could literally save your child's life. Cakmakli learned of the technique from a Facebook parenting group years earlier and stated that she'd used it successfully in her own life. 

What's more, ever since it blew up on the internet, other parents have come forward saying it worked for them too. As reported by the New Zealand Herald, one mom used the tip when she had lost her 2-year-old son in a Kmart. Describing the moment as the "scariest 10 minutes of [her] life," the woman shouted:

“I’m missing a little boy, he’s wearing a yellow shirt and has brown hair. He’s 2 years old and his name is Nathan.”

The strategy worked when a fellow shopper found the boy in another aisle and was able to quickly let his mom know. 

Cakmakli's tip is simple but it's also an incredibly important one for parents to know. 

Have you ever been in a situation where this tip could have saved you an incredible amount of panic? Spread the word about this simple yet effective technique and you could be saving a life.