Missing child at Chuck E Cheese UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Im really sorry that this happened to your family and Im glad your grandson wasnt hurt.
Even the best parent out there cant keep thier eyes on thier child all the time.You can look away for a second and they can be gone.
No its not CEC responsiblity to babysit but I think things should have been done different.It wouldnt have hurt for the manager to page and the part about the girl who was working at the front door ticks me off.She should have stayed at the door and not walked off.IMO that would be a big no no.

There shouldn't be any BASHING HERE. I'm sorry I think that if your child is invited to a party (at someone's house or out in public) it is the responsibility of all ADULTS to keep an eye on the children. There is usually more than one adult at one of these parties.

I also think that the restaurant should of made an announcement calling the child's name, using a nickname. That's the least they could of done.

As for watching the front door I can tell you from experience that I've gone in/out of the same restaurant and NO ONE WAS THE WISER THAT I'D COME IN OR THAT I'D LEFT. If you're going to stand there for the customers that are walking in then stand there, watch the door. That's what you're getting paid for. I do realize that most of the employees are teenagers (most are here) but they need to learn responsibility. I would hate to think if something else happened to a child and an employee was wrongly accused of doing something.

I'm glad the child was found.

My knee jerk reaction was to say, "Why wasn't the boy being watched, given his age." But, then I got off my high horse, and recalled a situation when I thought my son was taken. Much different situation, yet it was a time when I thought someone had him, who did not and my son walked away.

So, I have to say that I think that CEC acted poorly in this matter, as far as the info the staff was given, that boy was no longer on the premises. So, they should have locked the place down, used the PA system and checked every kid at the door.

Our CEC is really good about it, but I will send a letter if you pm me and tell me what you want. My letter would be in regard to the lack of procedure at that location, and also stating that I read this case scenario on a public message board.

My first reaction was also why wasn't someone watching him? but then thought back to when mine were smaller and the times they would wander off in a store.

I remember one time at wal mart and my oldest was no where to be seen, I couldn't find him anywhere. I started to scream his name. I had everyone looking at me lol but I didn't care this was my baby. I finally found him standing crying cause he couldn't find me. that was the worst thing ever.

:hug I sure am glad they found him save.

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Originally Posted by Anniston

My knee jerk reaction was to say, "Why wasn't the boy being watched, given his age." But, then I got off my high horse, and recalled a situation when I thought my son was taken. Much different situation, yet it was a time when I thought someone had him, who did not and my son walked away.

So, I have to say that I think that CEC acted poorly in this matter, as far as the info the staff was given, that boy was no longer on the premises. So, they should have locked the place down, used the PA system and checked every kid at the door.

Our CEC is really good about it, but I will send a letter if you pm me and tell me what you want. My letter would be in regard to the lack of procedure at that location, and also stating that I read this case scenario on a public message board.

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And to all that have had same thing happen, thank you for posting as it does show that we have all turned our heads at the wrong time. It only takes 1 second for something to happen. Just thank god this one turned out ok.

Our Chuck E Cheese has someone at the door monitoring incoming and outgoing people. You can not leave without having your number on your wrist checked and it has to match everyone leaving with you. I've always put my mind at ease when we are there because I know there is no way my daughter would leave with someone else or on her own.

Glad the boy was found. I have "lost" my daughter before and it is the scariest feeling in the world! And the seconds feel like hours.

I'm really glad your grandson was found and was fine. It is incomprehensible that they would not page for him or tell people what he was wearing to look for him. The place should have been locked down until he was found too. I think the point of the compaint is being missed. It wasn't that he was lost it was what they didn't do once it was reported to them. I know it can happen in the blink of an eye. I turned my back for a second on my son once when we were at Cedar Point and he was gone. It scared me to death. The group I was with immediately started yelling and looking for him. About 3 minutes after he went missing he was back with a glass of water he had went to a stand to get. If you pm me where to complain I will email them to tell them they have a bad policy to use in case of a lost child. I'd sure want more done if it were mine.

Thank you

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Originally Posted by meltodd69

WOW I can't believe you guys are bashing this person. Their child was missing. Regardless of who was eating pizza and who should have kept their eyes on this child for every second, a child was still missing.
We all should know that it only takes one second for a pervert or kidnapper to grab a child. Heck I've heard of kids getting grabbed out of shopping carts. I guess it was the parents fault for looking at the item they were intending to buy. Children have been snatched out of beds, front yards and even hospitals. Children lately are even being taking from the womb. It could happen to anyone at anytime, and even to people that have eagle eyes.
I have never been to a Chuck E Cheese. So I have no idea how they would handle this. But it seems to me they could have announced something. If I worked there I would have even done a lock-down until the child was found. That is easy to do. I agree that the staff did not handle this situation properly. And Thank-God you found your child.
If this is Chuck E Cheese's missing child policy and how they handle it ITA it needs to be changed.
After all isn't it the child we should all be worried about? It is the children we have to fight for and protect. Not play the blame game on who is at fault.

If it helps add me to the list! I will not be taking my Grandson there!

My name is Melissa. I am a concerned Grandmother from Ohio.

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I totally agree with you :)

well just as you don't want to blame the mom I def don't want to blame chuck e cheese for this. It isn't their fault what so ever that a 4 year old was left on its own. A person could have taken the child and the mother could have never seen him again :( and all because of misunderstandings :( I know I am not perfect either and don't claim to be but I guess this should be a learning experience. Make sure you know who is watching who and don't assume anything, your children are depending on you, their very lives depend on it. What if this was somewhere else where they don't care, like mcdonalds or a carnival, or the park, children disapear (sp?) every day because people turn their backs and make dumb mistakes.

While I agree that CEC could have done more, it isn't their responsibility to watch the children there. When I bring my children there (and it's rare, believe me), I am aware ahead of time about the atmosphere and the abundance of children and families there. I don't take my eyes off my children--even for a second. They're that important to me. I'm not really comforted by their "security measures" and feel it's my duty as a parent to watch my child for every second that they're in there. My BIGGEST pet peeve for bringing my children to CEC or similar places (and the biggest reason that our visits there are rare) is the irresponsibility of the other parents there who think they can sit and eat pizza while their children play unsupervised. I would estimate that 80% of the children playing in CEC are not being watched by their parents and that's sad.

I guess it's a lesson learned for the parents in this situation that it's never okay to just assume that someone else is watching your child. JMO.