Dear Kid Saturday – Lost Puppies

Dear TJ,

You really scared a lot of people last week when you bolted out the door at McDonald’s without a grown-up. I wasn’t there. You were with two of your grandmas. Thankfully, you only made it out the first door into a vestibule – not outside where the drive thru lets out. When I heard about it, I got very upset and tried to figure out how to make you understand that what you did was not safe. In figuring out what I had to do, I wrote up an article called How to Protect Your Children.

Daddy and I talked with you every day about how important it is to always stay with an adult, and never go with an adult you don’t know. Knowing that some bad people sometimes ask little kids for help finding lost puppies, we asked you what you would do if someone asked you to help find their puppy. You said you would go and find it. That scared Mommy and Daddy.

After a few days of talking to you about safety, it started to sink in. As we left to go out to lunch on Sunday, you decided to pretend you were looking for a lost puppy in the living room. I decided to see if what we’d been talking about had sunk in.

“What would you do if someone you don’t know asked you to help find their lost puppy, buddy?”

You thought about it for a second. “I would go and find…” I held my breath as you paused  to take a breath of your own. “Mommy and Daddy.”

I was so proud and so happy at that moment. We’ve since asked you the same question a number of times, and other scenarios involving a grown-up you don’t know. Every time, you’ve told us you would come and find Mommy and Daddy.

But on Sunday, after the first time you said you’d find us instead of trying to find the puppy, you continued trying to find the “lost puppy” along the road as we were driving. We parked our car at the Olive Garden, and I noticed that there was a dog in the car we parked next to. When you got out of the car, I told you to come over and look inside the other car  and tell me what you saw.

With a huge smile on your face, you shouted, “The lost puppy!”

Love,
Mommy

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Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.