Ella used to be a "runner"- man she could run fast, especially in public. It was especially hard being pregnant and trying to run after her. I had a kiddy "leash" for her, but you can't have it on them all the time. Thankfully she is now growing out of it and I now actually take her to the mall without being worried that I am going to lose her.

We have a 'runner'.  It's horrible.  Our house has been barracaded as much as possible to keep our boy in.  It started over summertime when he was 2 1/2.  He started escaping from the house when a door was left open (usually the main garage door as it's attached to the house and he could get through the door from the house to garage, and then out the garage door if open).  We had visitors over and we saw Jett go out to the backyard, and knew it was safe out there (and not knowing then he was a 'runner'.)  Next thing we hear people calling out from the front asking if we'd lost a little boy (been a matter of 5 mins).  He'd gone from being out the back, to going through the house out the front and down the road!  Our elderly neighbours saw him walking alone and went up to him and he showed them where he lived.  It happened one more time a week or so later, and some man who lives down the saw road him, and himself having a grandchild that goes walkabout knew to get hold of him and take him home.  We noticed after 2 mins he wasn't around the house so Dh went down the driveway (we live down a ROW) and saw this man holding Jett's hand talking to other neighbours to see where he came from.  After that we got a safety gate to put up from our house to the garage so he can't get out that way and have a chain across the front door and have it on 24/7.

BUT.  The scariest time he went missing was from my mum's house.  Ava was a few weeks old, I'd gone to my mum's house and was feeding Ava in the lounge.  Jett and my mum had gone into one of the bedrooms.  Mum then went out through another bedroom exterior door into the backyard.  Unbeknown to her, he'd followed her quietly and instead of going out the backyard, he went the other way out the front gate which she was about to close but hadn't got there yet.  She lives down the road from the Mall, and he walked himself down there!  I saw my mum in the backyard, but wondered where Jett was after about 2 mins (literally!)  So I stopped feeding Ava, went to look in the bedrooms, then outside and asked mum where he was.  She didn't know either.  So we went straight out the front and could not see him down the road.  All my family live next to each other (my dad owns the properties and my siblings rent out the houses).  So I hoped he'd just gone to one of my sisters houses so we searched all around our properties.  I went down the road and were asking people if he'd seen him.  It was a horrible gut-wrenching question "have you seen a little blonde boy walking on his own".  I was calling out his name, went around the block as on the other side of the block is a main road and I prepared myself to see him lying in the middle of the road with cars stopped all around him, but when I got there all was normal thankfully!  Anyhow after 20-30 mins I was about to call the police when I got a call from my mum who'd been searching down at the mall when someone came out to her (who we'd asked on the street if she's seen him) who said an announcement had been made over the PA system about a boy being found in the CARPARK!  So had taken him back inside the mall to the information.  So my mum went and picked him up from there.  Gah, utterlly awful awful time!!!  Sooo relieved to get him back!  So we watch him like a hawk wherever we go, and NEVER leave other people to watch him, as they just think 'he'll be fine' but they do not know how quick he is, and how quiet he is when he's up to something!  We also used a child harness on him out in public as he's likely to run out onto the road, or away from us and he's soo fast and doesn't listen when you call him to come back.  I can't wait til he's grown out of this stage, but seeing Lucas at 4 yrs old doing it, I know now to not think jett will be out of this running stage by the time he's that age.

You can't watch your children 24/7, you can't shadow them when they're playing but you HAVE to make sure their environment is as safe as possible and never assume someone else is watching them for you.  You should always know where they are.  My older 2 children have never been 'runners' so this is all new to us, but my Dh is paronoid about childrens safety and is always over-the-top, but children are unpredicable and you have to be smarter than them and foresee any hazards.

MrsMojo wrote: There are kids that aren't runners? How do I get one?

LOL!!  Yes I have a runner, my gorgeous Mr 2 1/2.  He is a huge handful after my other 2, my now 4 year old is one of those kids that never leaves your side, he is quite happy walking along beside me at the supermarket and holding my hand in town.  His brother however still sits in the trolley because I cant trust him!  He thinks it is a game to run away from me so I no longer give him the opportunity I think some kids are naturally more curious and adventureous than others. 

just read back, OMG Jett sounds so much like Drew my4beauties!!  I still have the harness in my bag at all times for him and we deadbolt the door so he cant get out unless I am with him.  He can also climb the gates now and likes to try to climb out the windows!  I am predicting I will go grey one of these days!

OMG, now I'm so worried my little man will turn into a runner!  Apparantly most mornings when I woke I would sneek out the house and walk up to my Grandma's house for breakfast (we lived in the bush in the Northern Territory so it was safe at the time) and she would always call my Mum to tell her I was there and she'd bring me back.  Not sure what type of locks, if any, we had on the doors but I can't imagine my boy doing that now, ekk!

I think I will invest in some reigns.

Jett's started escaping the house again.  There is only one way he can get out now, and that's the front bedroom window and he's learnt to climb out it.  Since R became friends with the boy who lives at the front of our driveway, J wants to go and play at his house too.  He got out the front door recently when the older kids kept coming and going from neighbours to our house, and Jett followed them over there.  He saw what toys they have in their house and is now obsessed with them and keeps wanting to go and play there.  The first time he got out and went to their house, they weren't home but he got into their house and went and got the toys to bring back to our house!  Anyway, yesterday afternoon R went to play there, and J got upset he couldn't go.  I got busy with bathing Ava and when I came out I instantly said to Dh "where's J?"  He was busy playing on his phone and didn't take any notice but I said straight away "Check if he's gone to the neighbours!"  Just as I was walking up the hallway, I saw J through the front door window on the front porch!  I then heard a knock and it was the neighbour's mum bringing J back as we've told them he's a runner and if you see him without us, he's taken off!  Then 7am this morning, G barges into our room yelling "J's climbing out R's window!"  So we bolted out of bed and caught him on the front porch again.  So today we went and bought window latches.  No more risking it.  It's exhausting not being able to be relax in your own home!

AuntieSarah wrote:  I also find the thought of other people looking after him really scary, dh's aunt said recently she wants to have him sometime but I just don't trust people to realise how quick he is and how adept at unlocking & opening doors, gates etc. And she is a bit older and wouldn't keep up with him! MIL is the only person I really trust to look after him (apart from dh of course).

We are exactly the same.  I'm going to put a stop to my mum having J actually, because we've heard from my brother that J got out from my mum's house to the front house and my SIL (who lives in the house in front) saw J and took him back to my mum's. She didn't even realise he'd gone.  So even though she KNOWS what he's like, she's still not careful enough with him.  I think people get to blaze about having J and think it'll all be ok.  But it's not.  He can't be trusted for a second.  If he can escape from our house when we've put every security measure in place to keep him from getting out, then he'll easily escape from other peoples homes.  I've even warned his kindy what he's like!

squishys mum, it is scary aye how fast they can be!!

Thankfully my runner seems to be growing out of it, thank goodness!!  I still have to watch him like a hawk but the novelty of running off seems to have worn off a bit!

Squishysmum, don't beat yourself up at all!  It can happen to anyone!  My Dh is THE most paranoid about children's safety and yet our boy has escaped when on his watch, so know that you're not the only one it's happen too.

Eek hopes!!  That poor mum!