Gone in an Instant!

by Rock Reman, Terry Peak

How many times have you finished a lesson and the parents of the young child whom you have just taught are nowhere to be found?

You have spent ample time waiting with the youngster in the designated spot where you were supposed to meet and it is nearing the time that you need to go out on your next lesson. Not only do you have the responsibly to return the child safely to the parents, but you also want to give a summary of how the lesson went to the parents.

You have several options, such as asking a fellow instructor to take responsibility or perhaps asking the School Receptions Person to take over.

The point I'm getting to is, being young, children are so small and hard to see in a crowd and they can disappear in an instant if let out of your sight.

A short while ago, I witnessed this type of scary event.  The child had been returned to the parents after the lesson, as they were getting their boots off, etc. They had about a 2 minute period where the 4-5 year old was not at arm's length and was suddenly gone.  After about 30 minutes with 10 - 12 people frantically searching, the child was found at the far end of a busy parking lot.  A happy ending to a stomach-wrenching half hour.

My focus on this story is to remind people and especially us as instructors, that things like this happen very fast, so make sure you don't take your responsibility lightly.  Hopefully after reading and thinking about this, you will take those extra precautions to assure this won't happen to you.