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My cousin went missing years ago at my house. We had a pingpong table that folded up and leaning against a wall in the garage. He crawled behind it to hide and fell asleep.
The police WANT to be called and would rather get a "never mind" from the parent than loose time because of embarrassment.
Regardless, if they think the child is in danger - calling the police is the right move. I don't want people to ever get the idea that they shouldn't because they will be judged to have done something "inexcusable" by their peers. Time is of the essence in these instances. Better to feel a bit silly and have your child rather than waste precious time should you be correct in your fears.
My biggest problem with people with a trigger finger for 911 isn't them being silly. It's that you're wasting precious resources for someone who really has a problem. If you're doing it for attention, or confused, you're going to make the police think the majority of cases are just for fun.
If my child went missing in my house, I would search carefully, and hesitate to call 911 until searching everywhere, because I would be afraid of getting the neighbor's dog shot.
If he's three and not talking, he probably has some sort of mental illness/retardation. Even more reason he shouldn't be left alone.
No....not all children that do not/can not talk have special needs (who the hell uses the term retarded these days??!!??)...there are many underlying reasons for apraxia of speech and one of the smartest little kids I ever met had it....with lots of therapy and understanding he overcame much of it and started talking around age 8...currently a very typical and smart mouthed teenager with amazing grades.
My parents called the police once when I was "missing." I think it's a funny story, but my mom isn't too amused by the memory of it. I had been playing, and imagining something having to do with knights and horses and castles, and I found this little hidden spot near my dad's old roll top desk - I think I was imagining that it was my room in the castle. Anyhow, I fell asleep. And apparently, I slept through my mom calling for me, my dad calling for me, the neighbors calling for me, and the police calling for me. My mom was frantic. I woke up at some point and could hear a man talking to my mom in the hallway (a policeman), and I just got up, all blurry eyed, and walked towards them, asking what was going on. I shut right up when everyone's heads snapped towards me. My mom felt really dumb, but tons of people had overlooked me, so it wasn't just her.
I think I was sick (fever), actually, which helped account for why I was so dead to the world and didn't hear anyone calling for me.
So I do understand how kids can go "missing" in their own home. And I also think it's appropriate for a parent to call the police if they can't find their child. Better safe than sorry.
Yes, better safe than sorry, but calling the police doesn't actually make you safe. The best compromise might be to get the neighbor's dog to search for your child. The dog would be glad to do that to avoid capital punishment.
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