The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. 

Woman shares ‘looking loudly’ technique to help locate lost child

The tactic has been praised by parents on TikTok

Charlie Duffield
Wednesday 23 February 2022 12:40 GMT
Comments
Any parent will know that losing a child in a crowded place is a nerve-wracking experience
Any parent will know that losing a child in a crowded place is a nerve-wracking experience (Jess Martini/Tik Tok)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Any parent will know that losing a child in a crowded place is a nerve-wracking experience.

There’s panic, worry and concern as you try to think clearly and figure out what to do next.

But one woman has shared a clever way to try and find your child in crowded places, which she calls the “looking loudly” technique.

TikTok user @jesmartini revealed that she had lost her son in a busy supermarket, but managed to locate him quickly using the handy trick.

In the clip, she explains: “If you’re at an amusement park, zoo, mall, whatever it is, and you look around and your child is no longer with you, what you want to do is start loudly looking for them.

“Do not start silently looking for them. You want to look loudly, and what I mean by that is you start shouting their description while you look.”

This method will help you get the message out to as many bystanders as possible, as quickly as possible.

“It’s going to sound like this: ‘I’m looking for a boy, age five, short brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian, red Nike T-shirt, black shorts, black shoes,’” she explains

“Now you’ve got every single person who’s around you looking for your child instead of just you, and best case scenario somebody finds your child and they return them to you.

“The worst case scenario is that someone was walking away with your child, but they’re going to let them go because they don’t want that sort of commotion around.”

She adds that some may feel awkward doing it, but that “it is so much better to look stupid than to be sorry”.

Additionally, @jesmartini also shared some extra tips to keep your child safe.

She advises: “Dress your kids in bright colours similar to each other. Once I was at a play place and there were three brothers and they were all dressed in neon pink. The only thing I could focus on was those brothers because they stood out so much.

“Also before you enter the place make sure to get a picture of your child and what they’re wearing and make sure that picture includes their shoes.”

She also adds that parents should put their phone number somewhere on the child, whether that be on their clothes or a special band.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in