What scares you the most?

Question

I'm not proud to say this but I lost my 3 year old daughter in the dept. store for about 1 minute. She ditched her daddy playing hide and seek. It was the longest minute of my life and I have never been more scared. For those of us with children this question is easy.

Answer 1

Hi there,

I don't have any children but can imagine what it would feel for a mother losing their child for some time, so I am so pleased for you that she turned up okay that day. I think for any mother, their worst fear would be to lose their child like this.

Since I don't have children, my fear or greatest fear is debt. I've never really been in debt, but for those that have, it ruins their lives completley and where they cannot move out of poverty. Having a roof over your head and money coming in is the one thing that I think many of us care and worry about the most other than the safety of their children and I continually fear ever losing my job or my home if for any reason I could no longer afford to pay for having this essential security in life. Money is the thing that gives you independance and some amount of freedom and power to do things with your life.

It is not everything in life, but it gets you from A to B in life and what brings food to the table and pays for the roof over your head and without it, this would be horrendous and life-threatening and there are people on the streets because of not having a job or money coming in. We live in such a money-orientated world today and it seems to govern so much and how we survive, so having a job or some money source is essential to life and why people get loans all of the time because they fear being without money.

I fear lots of other things but this is my greatest fear of all. Any thing that happens to us other than this is usually accidental and so we don't really fear them until something has actually happened and that might make us fear something happening again like you losing your daughter for those few moments. You never knew that it was going to happen and so you didn't fear that it was going to happen until it did and I am so glad that you got her back again and that she was safe.

But for most people, their minds are usually on money and how they are going to live from day to day and what people seem to fear all the time is the thought of losing everything they have if they lose their jobs or lose their home because they can't afford to pay the rent or mortgage. Without a firm foundation, we have so much to fear and because we become vulnerable and disempowered as a result if we lose what we have.

Don't know if this is the answer you were looking for, but this is what I fear. I wish for the safety of all children too and because I think for mothers, it must be such a frightening thing to go through what you had and makes you so much more stronger and watchful as a result.

Christmas wishes to you and hope you never go through that again.

Answer 2

Every parent has one story or another about a terrifying moment where we thought we "lost" our child. I remember when that happened to me. I was shopping and holding my 3 year old daughters hand. She let go and instantly I turned to get her hand back and she was gone. I asked a store clerk if they saw a little blond girl and instantly they put out a code Adam and all the store employees started looking for her and the store prohibited anyone from leaving the store until she was found. I remember feeling like my whole world had come crashing down on me. What probably took about 2 min to find her felt like an eternity. Another thing that happened was my daughter who was 6 was taking a bath by herself because everyone told me she was old enough to take a bath without me standing over her. She was taking a long time so I went to check on her and she was face down in the tub. I yelled her name she didn't respond. I ran to the tub and pulled her out of the bath and scared her to death. She explained to me that she was just trying to see how long she could hold her breath. Needless to say we started her on showers :) I get scarred every time I hear about a child molester or a missing child... I worry that something bad will happen to her and I wont be around to protect her or comfort her. Man, being a parent is so wonderful but so scary at the same time.

Just a note to all the parents who read this: My daughter attended a parent / child self defensive class with me when she was 8 years old. Our local YMCA put the class together to better inform parents and children about abductions and ways to prevent and get away. During the class the instructor told us to tell our children to scream "Not my mommy... Not my daddy" if someone grabs them. You think about how many times you were in the store and heard a child screaming with their parents. The only way you would've known something was wrong is if you heard the child screaming that the person wasnt their parent. Just a bit of advice that I found helpful.

Answer 3

What scares me the most is some sick taking my 3 yr old daughter and then killing her. I don't think could live Knowing and wondering what he did to her. I think I may have post partum from my second becase i worry about these things a lot and cry often because i love my babies so much. Don't let daddy play hide and seek anymore at the store that is the one place you don't want some one else to find her.

Answer 4

Ok that would freak me out as well. My daughter is only 1.5 but she can still run! She's just clingy with me though because she's younger. Glad that you found her though. I remember I was in a department store and heard a lil one crying in a clothes rack. I guess the mom thought that the dad had him and the dad thought the mom had him. I tried to get him out of the clothes rack but he wouldn't come with me (good that he wouldn't talk to strangers but difficult to stay with him and find someone at the store to make an announcement) Ended up asking another customer to tell someone in the store to make an announcement. I bet that 1 minute must have lasted a lifetime....

Answer 5

My son was given a Walmart smiley face sticker when he was about 13 months old...when we got home he put it in his mouth and started choking. His face was turning colors and no sound or breath was able to come out. I am CPR and first aid certified so thankfully I knew what to do and he ended up just fine and is now a happy healthy almost 4 year old, but it could have easily been a completely different ending...all because of a silly sticker.

Answer 6

When my son takes off running near the street. Like when he's playing in the front yard and wants to chase a leaf or something. We don't live in a busy area, but there are some teenage boys that live up the street and they always drive so fast. I bolt after him and scoop him up even if he's 15 feet away from the street.

Answer 7

My son was playing quietly in the front room (door deadbolted, child proof doorknob cover) while I was in the adjoining kitchen. I had my back turned for a few moments and I turned around and the door was wide open, the childproof knob in pieces on the floor.

To this day, I don't know how he reached the bolt or got outside without making a peep. We live on a busy street and have steep stairs that go down to the laundry room. Turns out he was sitting on a bench in the courtyard wearing only his diaper and singing to himself.

Answer 8

I agree with you. My sister and I went to Wal-mart, at the time my neice was about 5yrs old as I recall. I thought that she was with my sister and my sister thought she was with me. We didn't here her cry or anything we search the whole store except one department. They made an announcement over the loud speaker. Sure enough we found her in the Toys Departmen. Playing on floor with a doll. ooooowwwweeeee what a relief.

Answer 9

Happened to me once too... my daughter went around a different corner than I did in Toys R Us- thought I was going to die of a panic attack- I've never been so scared. I am scared to death of something happening to my kids or my husband.

Answer 10

I guess what scares man kind the most is what we do not understand!
4 example if we knew every thing we would not be scared of any thing.