Handphone for kids. Not to Show Off.

It bothers me a lot each time I take my young children out for a spin. I'm very particular about holding my children's hands when we are in malls and about. I've seen moms and dads shopping, fully absorb in their selection of purchase and left their toddlers wondering about alone. Do they ever wander what if their young children are lost or worse, kidnapped? They will be lost forever.

Unlike the bigger kids, toddlers can barely say their full name, much less parents names, address and phone numbers. If they are lost, what can they do? Shout and cry? Today, even if kids cry, I don't see a lot of concerned people going forward to help. Just stare and walk passed... probably show concerned from afar. Then we hear scary stories about kids who didn't even have a chance to shout and cry. The unfortunate kids were chloroformed, carried into toilets, had their hair shaved and their clothes changed. So what if we can describe the child.

I get very upset when I see parents leaving their kids wondering about and they walked ahead and unconcerned. This 'It wouldn't happen to me la' attitude was probably the same with the parents of some of the poor victims. A few weeks back, I was at MidValley Megamall walking along the shops on Level G. Suddenly, I saw this very young boy about 3-4 years old walking pass quickly and crying very loudly. No adults were around him or acted as if he was with them. He looked lost. I stopped him and asked if he was lost. He didn't reply and continued to walk. Only then, I noticed ahead more than 20 feet away, a couple looked back embarrassed and waited for the kid to catch up with them. I was quite pissed over the ignorance of this young couple. It only takes a second for an ill intentioned person to pick this boy up and carry him away. Don't they know that? They were so far away. If they want to teach their kid a lesson, go home 1st and don't risk his safety. What were they thinking of!

You can say I'm paranoid but the world ain't that safe. It is just that some are lucky and some are not. I prefer to play it safe than be sorry. I used to have terrifying nightmare of losing my kids to kidnappers. Once they are lost, they are gone forever - not knowing who to call, our full names and address. Tags on them are good but not sustainable. They are my precious kids and there is no way I can risk them. I'm quite anal about having 1 person to 1 kid when we go out. Hand holding is a must. If not, they can walk alone but the adult must be just next to him. That's only for Ryan and not the 2 younger ones.

I have my boys then memorize Daddy and Mummy's handphone number. I gave an old phone to Ryan to carry when we go out. Still trying to get one for Raymund. Purely for security reasons. It is not a show off to have kids carrying handphone. I taught them how to use it. Had some chats with them on what they must do when they are lost. In fact, Raymund got so excited over it and has been calling me every day at work ever since. I'm ok. It's lovely to hear from my kids while at work. I don't brush them off. As for my girl, she is too young to memorize. She just has to stick very close. And she wears an anklet with little bells on it.

Very soon, I'll have them memorize our address too.