Toddler Runs Away From Nursery School, Shocks Parents

on October 16, 2011 at 7:00 AM

toddler escapes nursery school
Is this the way out?If you've got a wily toddler, this story might make you a wee bit anxious the next time you drop him off at nursery school. Especially if your child is anything like a three-year-old named Alfie who shocked the nursery school and his mother when he busted out and ran back home, all by himself.

Yep, a three-year-old showed up on his parent's front door after scaling a three foot fence, crossing a busy road, and making his way home. Little Alfie surprised his mom, who only 45 minutes prior had received a call from the school saying he was doing just fine.

I can understand that the first day of nursery school is hectic. With so many confused little people wandering around, and new teachers getting used to the whole situation, things can happen. I can also see if you have a three-foot fence you might think that would keep the smallest students inside. What's not so cool is what happened when Alfie's mom brought the tyke back to the school.

As Samantha Aldridge brought Alfie through the door, the school hadn't even realized he was missing. Yikes. That's when I would worry. Because let's be honest, that kid was obviously determined to bust out of there. He climbed a fence! A three-year-old! I mean kudos to Alfie for knowing his way home, but what three-year-old goes way outside their safety zone after hopping a fence? Clearly this kid is a fire cracker and no ordinary school can handle him. But I would hope they would notice they were short a student.

I would be a little peeved if no one noticed my own fire cracker went missing. I know three-year-olds are little moving crazy people, but you expect them to not escape -- at the very least -- when you sign up for nursery school. It sounds like a bad match for the family and the school, but I don't know if you can rightly blame either party. Alfie seems like the X factor in this situation.

Who do you think is to blame for this?

Image via Theodore Scott/Flickr

About the author April Peveteaux

writes about anything that gets stuck in her craw. A mom of two in Los Angeles, she can't believe she practically lives in the country now after attempting to raise kids in Brooklyn.

Filed Under: in the news, safety, nursery school

Comments (67)

Facebook comment from Angel Young

on Oct 16, 2011 at 7:48 AM

Wow! I would never leave my kid with them. They could not possibly have been watching the kids if he had time to climb the fence without anyone noticing. I would be contacting my local police department. Idc if you think im overreacting, but the next kid that escapes may not be so lucky...better safe than sorry.

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buffalove23

on Oct 16, 2011 at 9:14 AM

Def the preschool's fault. How do you lose a kid and not notice at all?

kjbugsmom1517

on Oct 16, 2011 at 9:34 AM

Def the preschools fault. If ur class is so busy u don't notice a kid missing u need a helper or a smaller class.

candlelight777

on Oct 16, 2011 at 10:26 AM

I would have called to see how my kid was doing. If they said he was doing fine I would have gotten the persons name then went back to the school & showed them that my child was with me. I would then get my child, his belongings & left.

My oldest actually did "escape" from preschool. Twice. The first time he ended up in the playyard. The second time he went out the front door. I was notified immediately both times.

He also ran away from school. His sisters preschool teacher found him walking down the road & she called me before the school even new he was missing. Needless to say he had an aide with him at all times after that. Would have changed schools but its the only one in our area. I didn't know about homeschooling at the time.

SandMsMama

on Oct 16, 2011 at 10:57 AM

wow I'm so glad I homeschool. I would def notice if my 3 yr old decided to try to escape. think about why he's doing this though, it's because little ones need to be with their mothers... duh

Nonmember comment from Jeri

on Oct 16, 2011 at 12:14 PM

Yeah, what I'd like to see is a homeschooled kid busting out of his house and running away to nursery school where the kids have much more fun.

Nonmember comment from A

on Oct 16, 2011 at 12:58 PM

The kid had a 1/1000 chance of getting run over by a car, and maybe 1/1,000,000 chance of abduction by a happen to be there right place, right time sexual predator. What makes me angry is that there used to be times when children could play all day by themselves without beeing harmed or killed. Safe sidewalks for pedestrians, drivers that can stop their vehicle just an hair away from pedestrian accidents, and practical real statistics about the predatory behaviour is amongst the population -- now we have too much fears, causing an tremendous burden upon parents, that have to be constantly on watch to trying to make the odds zero. I want back times when all you do is buy your kid a bicycle, and wait for kid to come back at sunset.

Nonmember comment from Michelle

on Oct 16, 2011 at 1:25 PM

I had a feeling that someone would use this as a validation for homeschooling. "Wow, that's terrible. I am SO glad that I homeschool". I have had 5 kids all go through preschool, the oldest is now 20 and the youngest is 5. And guess what? Not a single one of them escaped, or had any other bad thing happen to them. Quite the opposite. They thrived in preschool, developed social skills, and were much more prepared to start Kindergarten. I'd also like to add that while this was a scary incident, no doubt, it's not common. What's more common is a child who gets away from his/her parents at a park, grocery store, amusement park or some other place. I've seen that happen dozens of times.

vanessa5470

on Oct 16, 2011 at 1:35 PM

Hahaha, lovin that comment Jeri!

Thank you Michelle! More things happen with kids when theyre with their OWN friggin parents. Look at allllllllllll the child abuse cases, missing babies, DEAD babies, etc. Heck, maybe the moms that are ok with out of home care should start using that as excuses :: rolls eyes::

Facebook comment from Lisa Moore

on Oct 16, 2011 at 2:41 PM

I think its the schools fault, but it shouldnt shine a bad light on all preschool's some are actually run very well. Also some kids need homeschool and learn alot faster at home than at school sooooo yea that shouldnt even be an argument if its not your kid mind your own business. Dont they teach that public school anymore?