Can Anyone believe this?!

[daveemtdave]

If you look at the original post, this child was around 2. He should not have been allowed to wonder. Parents should know where their child is and have them in a stroller of carried. I know it only takes a second for a child to dart, and we hear that on the news all the time.......as far as this employee's actions; perhaps he did what he thought was correct. Afterall, if the parents didn't think it was a problem to let this toddler run around, maybe he didn't think it was a problem to let someone else take him to lost and found.

 

[Edeyore]

The parent should have watched the kid.....the kid should not have become lost....

Lost children should not be Disney's problem.....if you bring a kid to the park, pay attention to them.

The Disney parks are large and contain great numbers of people in them at any give time. The possibility of "anyone" being separated from their group
is a possibility and since it is their premises, it is Disney's problem.
About a year or two ago a guest drown near the Grand Floridian. He was
of age, and drunk. He should have been responsible for himself, but the
resort was blamed when he died.
There should be policies to deal with these situations. Trying to hand it
off to someone else, is the wrong way to go.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Disney is not a place for young children. They get under the feet, people trip over them and hurt themselves (and everyone blames the adult) they spill drinks or ice-cream over your new outfit AND they scream and cry during performances and stage shows. Ban kids - keep Disney an "adults only" environment !!








Joking :lol:

 

[Disneydreaming]

If you look at the original post, this child was around 2. He should not have been allowed to wonder. Parents should know where their child is and have them in a stroller of carried. I know it only takes a second for a child to dart, and we hear that on the news all the time.......as far as this employee's actions; perhaps he did what he thought was correct. Afterall, if the parents didn't think it was a problem to let this toddler run around, maybe he didn't think it was a problem to let someone else take him to lost and found.

Even a 2 year old can get out of a stroller if they REALLY want to. Don't underestimate how smart kids are. All three of my kids figured out how to get out of their harness when they were desperate. Two year olds go through an independant stage and can get really demanding, ESPECIALLY at Disney. I don't know if this is the case or not, and while I agree that parents need to be aware at all times what their kids are doing, lets not assume that always the parents are at fault.

 

[Thrawn]

i don't know. i guess people are all just different and handle situations totally different. if i were a guest there, meaning not getting paid by disney... i would have tried to help if this man wouldn't have been helping this kid... not saying it's necessarily bad he wasn't doing cartwheels for the kid... BUT this is what you EXPECT AT DISNEY! the amount of disney CMs losing sight of the magic is growing every hiring season!
that's a whole new story though.

Why bring the Disney CM thing up? Its already been established that this person in question was a Kodak employee, not a Disney CM.

 

[speck76]

The Disney parks are large and contain great numbers of people in them at any give time. The possibility of "anyone" being separated from their group
is a possibility and since it is their premises, it is Disney's problem.
About a year or two ago a guest drown near the Grand Floridian. He was
of age, and drunk. He should have been responsible for himself, but the
resort was blamed when he died.
There should be policies to deal with these situations. Trying to hand it
off to someone else, is the wrong way to go.

If WDC served the guest the alcohol, they could be considered responsible. I do not agree with that, but that is the way the service laws work. Bars are not supposed to allow guests to get "drunk", nor are they allowed to serve "drunk" guests.

To your first point, if you take your child to WDW, or even to the mall, you become separated for whatever reason, and your child is abducted, is that WDW or the mall's fault?

 

[brich]

Wow I'm amazed at how this topic has revolved around who's responsibility the child's well being is. Of course, the parent's should pay close attention. The child should not have become lost. But it happened. It does happen. Is this the child's fault? By the time we all decide who's responsibility it is to help this child, the child could be dead. Disney CM or Kodak employee. It doesn't matter. As adults, we have a moral obligation to help a child in need. Maybe Cecil handed the child to someone he knew or maybe it was an off the clock CM, we don't know. If I encounter a lost child, I hand that child off to someone I know has authority or can safely take responsibility. I wouldn't just pass him on to an unknown. :veryconfu
I have to remind myself that many who post on here don't have children, so, obviously, there views are different than mine...

 

[brich]

I don't see the differance between the Kodak employee handing the child over to a "perfect stranger" or the Kodak employee handling the situation himself.
Both are "perfect strangers" to the child, and both are untrained as to how to handle lost children.
If I was untrained in this area, I'm not so sure I wouldn't "hand the kid off" myself.

You need to be trained to help a lost child these days? The Kodak employee had a uniform and should have some sort of identification displayed. A "perfect stranger" does not. This is why it is suggested you have lost children find a uniformed CM.

 

[Mgkcjohnson]

I am also surprised at how this thread has turned out. I, being a parent of a 3 year old, know what it is like to be at Disney with a young child. When we are in a park, I always get worried about being seperated. It has not happened, thank god, but I can see how it easily can happen. If it does, the parents are ultimately responsible, but regardless of who is responsible, the child's safety becomes the biggest concern. If I lost my child and found out the photographer passed her off to a total stranger, I would have gone nuts!!! I don't care if the Kodak people are not disney employees or not, common sense tells you not to let a lost 2 year old go off with a total stranger. You do not need to have training to know that. I think Thrawn said that it is Kodak's who should be responsible, I disagree totally... Disney is responsible. Disney is responsible for everything that happens on it's property. Kodak is at fault too, but it is a Disney park, disney property and Disney's responsibilty. SOmeone else also made a comment about expecting Disney to take care of lost kids.... Hell yes they should. No parent wants to lose their child. Some parents are less observant than others and pay less attention, but that is not an excuse to say they deserved it. When a child is lost, anyone who works in the park should do what every they can to help the child get reunited with his/her parents. The child's safety should be first and foremost. To the best of my knowledge, Disney is very on top of taking care of lost children. Thank god they are...

 

[Scooter]

You need to be trained to help a lost child these days? The Kodak employee had a uniform and should have some sort of identification displayed. A "perfect stranger" does not. This is why it is suggested you have lost children find a uniformed CM.

Having a uniform and a badge doesn't quality you to handle lost children. I can buy a badge in any of the shops in WDW.

Unless you are properly trained on recovering lost children, and apparently the Kodak employees aren't, then it doesn't matter if you are a Kodak Cameraman or a lady who is a "Perfect stranger."

All I am saying is I don't blame the camera people...they are trained to hang around in certain locations, recruit park guests, and take their pictures. The camera man did what a LOT of people would do...hand the kid over to someone who he or she thought could handle the situation better.

Disney needs to have these Kodak people trained to be more Proactive in these matters and train them how to deal with Lost children.

I don't blame anyone..the child went to the wrong person..not the childs fault, not the Kodak persons fault,not Disney's fault not the parents fault.

This is a case where it's never been an issue before and some corrective action needs to be taken...is this case...training for the Kodak people IMO.

Side note: Perhaps there should be a pre entrance park video that all parents should watch to train them on how to avoid losing their children and what to do if they do get separated from them. I don't recall every having any lost children training classes when my kids were born...perhaps it's time. :lol:

People are always looking for someone to "Blame" these days.

Each person in this case, the Cameraman, The Perfect stranger. The Parents, and The Disney Management need to work together to minimize this sort of senerio.

 

[Mgkcjohnson]

Scooter... anyone who is employed by Disney, whether directly or indirectly, should be responsible for the welfare of this lost child. End of story. How can you say a perfect stranger is just as viable??? What were to happen if that photographer let a "perfect stranger" take that child and that "perfect stranger" kidnapped that child????? Granted a vast majority of people in the park would have simply helped that child get to guest relations, but I am sure there are people who might have taken off with the child.... Also if a stranger comes across a lost child, what would be the 1st thing that stranger does??? FIND A UNIFORMED EMPLOYEE to help. Anyone who works in the park should know what to do if a lost child needs help... end of story. You do not need special training on how to "deal with a lost child" Unreal.....

 

[brich]

Having a uniform and a badge doesn't quality you to handle lost children. I can buy a badge in any of the shops in WDW.

I agree. BUT, I never mentioned a badge and how many people are showing up at Disney parks dressed as employees of either Disney or Kodak. Same could be said for a uniformed police officer. You need to put faith somewhere in a time like this and the best odds are with a uniformed employee (either Disney or Kodak :lookaroun ) even if they don't have their own name on there badge
I guess I'm a little surprised that people have to be trained to do anything and everything these days. Can you imagine, there's even potty training? :lookaroun

People are always looking for someone to "Blame" these days.

No I'm not, YOU ARE!

 

[Shaman]

I agree.....it was not handled the best way...but 1, this is coming from an HS student with 5 posts to his name, and 2, a kid of 2 years old (as described) should be in a stroller or on a leash....the parents should not let this happen.

Brad, I agree with your entire post. I just don't see how its possible for a two year old to get lost, unless it was intentional or something...kids that small can't really get too far in such a huge park...(then again I've seen many parents at that parks whose parenting skills are questionable)...

Of course it remains to be seen if this story is true...

All that being said...while I think Disney should not be responsible for your child, I think they should facilitate ways for parents to locate their lost child and/or make sure all employees on property are trained on how to deal with the situation. As adults, how many times have we been separated from our parties...now imagine how small kids must feel...and in turn parents...

I'm not a parent, but I know for sure I would keep an eye on my kid 24/7...and if they happen to still get lost...I sure as heck want everyone and anyone's help...especially the help of the people I paid money to, to get into their establishment. Its the parents responsibility though to ensure they aren't placed in such a position in the first place.

Just my worthless opinion though.

 

[PaisleyMF]

I been reading this thread and to my surprise. It is the same fault to the parents that is to Kodak and Disney. Some experts said that it only takes 5 minutes to abduct a Child. What can happen at that time someone took the child make it fall aslept or gag him/her change clothes put a hat or something to disguise the hair and presto a new kid in 5 minutes.

But sometimes people don't know about the Adam Warning. This is a warning system used at stores and places that when a child is missing the place is lockout employees are instructed to check everyplace of the store until the child is found.

This alert is named in honor of John Walsh (? America's most wanted) son who was abducted and killed.

Some suggetions to prevent this is have the kids on a leach (that i personaly hate), have a somekind of picture ID with name of the kid, name of the parents and picture of both, a Celular phone if you have one. and all sort of information like Granparents name, or Uncle / Aunt. allergies and food that can harm the kid, or illnesses. it can be atached to the clothes by sawing, or placed in a pocket. Make it in plastic so it wont get easy damage with water, and easy to remove so if found can be really used.

Remember kids are kids and this is the least we can do to have fun with them and protect them to.

 

[Highland_Holly]

Do the photographers have radios? Could he have called someone? How far was he from the ticket booth/store/baby center? Seems like (employment w/ WDW or Kodak aside) his responsibility as a PERSON IN A VISIBLE POSITION OF AUTHORITY (actual or impled by his uniform) was to make the intelligent choice of handing this child off to another such person (CM) who is trained for and capable of handling a lost child situation. Sounds like he took the easy way out by letting the child go with an anonymous person.

Dealing with lost children is a very serious thing. Granted, 99% of the time, the seperation was inadvertant and the families are happily reunited shortly. However, because in that other 1% of the time, horrible things can happen to innocent children, it is vital that ALL persons who may be put into the situation the photographer was be trained in the appropriate course of action. For him it may simply have been to pass the kid to another CM... or escort him to a designated area. No other option should have entered his mind. It simply isn't worth the risk.

BTW, it seems like "Lost Child" would be a fairly common thing in public places like WDW. Wouldn't that be covered in the most basic of employee training, no matter who his paycheck comes from? Heck, I worked at a GROCERY STORE as a bagger in HS and we were trained on what to do if there was a lost child.

Just my $0.02!

Holly

 

[Fran98765]

My question for the original poster is: How do you know that woman was a complete stranger? Like others have said, maybe Cecil knows that woman. Maybe it's his wife or an off duty CM. Were you even in earshot to hear the conversation that occurred between them, or are you just guessing? If you were in earshot to hear it, then why the heck didn't you speak up then and there? If you thought that the passing off of that kid to a "stranger" was a bad idea then, why didn't you tell them to "STOP"? You could have told them all to wait there and gotten another CM or security person to come to that spot to help out.

Everyone has been throwing around blame in this thread, perhaps it is you who is to blame.

 

[tigsmom]

...
But sometimes people don't know about the Adam Warning. This is a warning system used at stores and places that when a child is missing the place is lockout employees are instructed to check everyplace of the store until the child is found.
...

I have been locked inside a store for almost an hour during a Code ADAM. The child's description is given and everyone is instructed to contact an employee if the child has been seen recently.


I have 2 children and when they were small they were always belted into their stroller or being held by the hand or on a leash (yes I know people don't like them, but too bad - they work). Guess what? Lil'mermaid managed to get her stroller seatbelt un locked and slipped off; I saw it happen and grabbed her within 5 seconds. Very scary for me, but she thought it was funny.
All parents must be vigilant at all times with small children and basic saftey should be taught as soon as the child is old enough to understand, but remember, being lost in a big crowd where everyone else is much larger than you is enough to frighten any child and those lessons will be forgotten.
Employees need to be trained, but any person finding a small, frightened lost child should contact a CM immediately. Just put yourself in the parent's shoes or better yet that child's.

 

[inafog]

Okay, I'm not sure I really want to jump into the minefield here, but here goes...

I agree that the first responsibility for the child belongs with the parents. I can't personally imagine going off and leaving an area when the two-year-old isn't visible. And, yes, it is very easy to get separated in the first place. When my daughter was 15 months old, she was fascinated by getting into small places. Since I kept my eyes on her all the time at WDW, this was not a problem, since I saw her hiding each time. Even at the supermarket, though, they can dart between people and be halfway across the store before I can maneuver the cart around someone standing in line.

For my family, we go with prevention. Before we go into the parks, we not only tell the children what to do if they get separated from us, we tell them to stay right by us at all times (they are also carried or in the stroller a lot). We remind them that it isn't fun for anyone if we have to spend our Disney World time looking for each other. And whatever adults are in our party are actively involved in watching the kids. So far, it's working.

I don't really have an opinion on whether Disney or Kodak is responsible for the photographer's conduct. I'm not truthfully sure that he did the wrong thing--at least he put the brakes on the kid, even while carrying out a different primary responsibility. If I had been walking by and seen this poor child, I probably would have offered to help the photographer, too--and I'm not a CM. So, maybe it's just me, but I actually think everyone involved was doing the best they could.

 

[Michael72688]

At Universal I was told you do not touch a child, even holding their hands, unless they want you to hold their hand, but other than that, no touching at all!

 

[trr313]

The parent should have watched the kid.....the kid should not have become lost....

Lost children should not be Disney's problem.....if you bring a kid to the park, pay attention to them.

Okay you must not have children, because your comment would not have been so rude!! Yes people should watch children very closely but sometimes things happen and nobody is perfect. Disney prides itself on upholding it's reputation and clearly this cast member did not do Disney justice-enough said!