Story Archive

Hide-n-Seek

Although this page ends humourously, it starts with three tragic stories in the news recently: Runaway Bride, Boy Lost in Woods, and Three Missing Boys Found Dead in Trunk of Car.

Enough about the runaway bride already. Silly woman should have to pay for the cost of the services used to search for her and she should not get rich off of her lies. And, her fiance should run away from her, fast!

A cub scout was lost in the woods. Thankfully, he was found alive four days later, very hungry and thirsty but uninjured. He said that his parents told him if he was ever lost in the woods to stay on the trail and hide from strangers. He did as he was taught which could have cost him his life. Teach common sense. If you're lost and need help, don't hide from people who are calling your name and might be trying to help you, even if they are strangers to you. I still wonder if that boy wanted to stay lost instead of being found. There's more to this story...

Present situations to kids and ask them what they would do in a similar situation. Role-play. My niece has a 5 year-old daughter who always wants to help. When a little girl was kidnapped and killed recently, lured by a man who asked her to help him find his puppy, we presented this situation to my great-niece. What would you do if a man came up to you and asked you to help him find his puppy? She quickly responded, "I'd help him find his puppy because that's being nice." Scary. Her mom told her to say, "I'll go get my mom (or dad or neighbor or anyone you know) and we'll help you find your puppy." Then she is still being nice and getting more helpers. Let's hope that she never has to remember this, but does if she needs to.

Three boys playing in a yard disappeared when mom briefly stepped into the kitchen to check on dinner. They were found suffocated to death in the trunk of a car some thirty yards from their house. One of the boys had a history of playing in that car, but no one checked the trunk. Somebody's in trouble.

There was no sign of foul play and no one heard any noises that might have drawn their attention to the trunk. Perhaps these boys were playing hide-n-seek from their mom, but she didn't know it. Then, they hid from their "hunters." Perhaps they fell asleep from lack of oxygen, or it was just nap time and they suffocated. This game cost them their lives.

Teach kids to not play in cars, ever. Keep the doors and trunks locked on your vehicles. Teach children how to open the trunk of a vehicle from inside if there's a trunk release as required by federal regulations for all cars built after 2001. If you see a trunk open, find the owner and ask them to close it to prevent further such incidents. If you can't find the owner, close it yourself. Open trunks invite kids to play hide-n-seek and it can be a deadly game.

Now for the joke. I received this story in an e-mail some years ago so it's summarized here to the best of my memory. Although humorous, it does cause one to think about teaching kids to play the game hide-n-seek.