WE, as a nation, breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced that the six-year-old girl who had gone missing in Johor Bahru was found. She and her family would have been traumatised and will need time and therapy to heal.
Children can go missing for many reasons. Teenagers may choose to leave home due to conflict with parents or guardians, running away from an abusive environment, being groomed by a sex predator, having issues at school or psycho-social (mental health) issues.
At times, a child may be abducted by a parent in a custody battle. Children with disabilities, especially those with autism or severe hyperactivity, may wander off unintentionally. And finally, there is the young child, preschool who is abducted by strangers, kidnapped for financial motives or wanders off.
The police and home minister have stated that there has been no increase in missing persons in recent years.
However, police statistics show that up to 900 children go missing yearly – two to three per day. Fortunately, they reported that a majority (85-90%) are found.
Here are some safety measures to reduce the risk of young, preschool children going missing. This does not relate to teenage runaways or those with disabilities, where different measures are required.
Close supervision
In one study that I was involved in at the Clinical Research Centre in Perak, we looked at young children’s safety at shopping complexes. Out of 275 children under five years with caregivers, 38% were involved in at least one unsafe monitoring episode. The majority of these children involved out-of-sight or out-of-reach episodes.
It is worrying to note that many caregivers (55%) allowed their young children to walk on their own without any safety measures such as holding hands, being carried, using strollers or others). Many caregivers were distracted being engrossed in shopping activities or using their handphones.
It is vital that adults, parents and guardians, offer close supervision to children in their care at all times. This is not easy to do in crowded places. Young children should be carried or placed in a grocery shopping cart seat.
Parents should always hold the hands of preschool children or use a safety device that links them to their children. This can be an adjustable wristband harness or a toddler chest harness strap. Some people frown on these safety devices but parents who have used them will attest to their value.
Some parents invest in GPS child trackers attached to children’s clothing or as wristbands. Some GPS devices also have a built-in SOS button which young children can press when in dangerous situations.
I strongly recommend that parents avoid using their handphones when out with their children as this distracts them from supervising their children.
Educate young children on stranger danger
All children from ages two to three should be trained about the dangers of strangers, and to never engage with them or follow them.
Children aged four to five should also be taught their names, addresses, parents’ names and phone numbers. It is useful to have this information on the child, attached to a neck or wrist band, that they can show others.
Parents should educate or role play with children on what to do if they are lost or cannot find their parents, especially in a busy environment like a shopping mall. Teach them to approach the staff at checkout counters or payment counters to ask for help.
Parental preparedness
Keep updated photos of your children for identification purposes and be aware of emergency hotlines. While we hope and pray this never happens to us, reflecting and reading about it will prepare us in advance and enable us to act immediately if it does happen.
Community support
The public should act if they see a young child wandering unattended. We should try to find the parents urgently.
The community has also helped to disseminate information on missing children. The police have the NUR Alert system and a “Missing Children Portal” https://knk2hilang.rmp.gov.my which the public can access.
Bringing up a child in these difficult times is not easy. Society can support parents with their vigilance while we look to the authorities to improve the safety of our environments.
A preschool programme to train children on safety should be implemented.
The writer is a consultant paediatrician and child disability activist.
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