Lost toy at sitter's house, advice?

[madebymommy]

Only on DS can a thread about a train toy erupt into a mommy war *lol*
I have a toy-clutching 2 year old boy and we leaned a BIG lesson with this... He is absolutely obsessed with Little Einsteins and I managed to find a little Rocket toy hiding in the back corner of a Big Lots, coated in 6 year old dust. SCORE! DS took it everywhere and one day left it when he was out hitting, oh, about 75 stores with my shopaholic MIL. So this girl right here spent 5 hours in a strip mall, hitting every store looking for the darn thing. I found it but sheesh! So from now on I have a bucket of cheapo hot wheels cars that he can clutch whilst in public and we leave the LE goods at home!

[hishouseholdsix]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your opinions, and to everyone who expressed kind words about the loss of his lovey. I do realize that I'm a little sensitive about his train, but he's my baby and I hate to see him upset. With that being said, I'm not at all blaming her for the loss, I did find it frustrating however that there was a breakdown in communication. But, it's all over now and we've learned our lesson and moved forward. I would like to clarify a couple of things though. I did help her look for those 20 minutes, and I also paid her for an extra full hour to thank her for her time. I expressed to her when we got there and before we left that he thought of this train as a lovey, but I did not in any way blame her for its loss. I just wanted her to understand that it wasn't "just a train" to my DS.

At any rate, it's over now and we are moving on and using it as an opportunity to teach the kids about being responsible for anything we leave the house with. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and respond!

[Michelle_M]

I don't let my kids take "special" toys anywhere for this reason. Kids lose track of things (heck, *I* lose track of things)...

Special toys stay at home. PERIOD.

Chalk it up to a loss and replace the train. The next time he wants to take it somewhere, tell him "No, remember the last time we took it somewhere it got lost and you didn't have it for several days?"

Look in the stores, look on Ebay, put an add on craigslist, etc...

God bless!

[TinaDeanette]

Seriously, my kids can lose a toy in the bathroom!

[jennakayi]

As much as it stinks, I would just give up on it. My son loved trains too, now he more of a truck guy but he always has a car or something with him. We have lost stuff, sometimes it's a good lesson for the kids too. My DD left a Hello Kitty plush doll at the dentist, I told her not to bring it in but she did anyway. We got down the street and she realized she left it, I was not about to turn around and drag three kids back into the dentist (one a sleeping one year old by this point) to get her toy. Lesson learned on her part, keep track of your stuff.

[jennakayi]

Sorry people got so upset with you about this! I don't post alot on DS but have been around for awhile. It's a great place to learn all about different parenting styles. I hope you don't give up on DS cause of this thread!

[z2akids]

Originally Posted by Nora+6 So you think that this woman snatched a $10 run-of-the-mill train from your kid (without him noticing) and is so desperate to keep it that she's blowing you off? Your kid isn't as careful as you thought and he misplaced his toy. Lesson learned. I might thoroughly dig through my house to help find your child's bracelet, received at birth from a passed-on aunt, but I'm not breaking a sweat for "Thomas". She looked, she let you look, it wasn't found. Sucks for your kid, but it will happen again.

A little rough, but honestly about how I feel. $10-$15. If my little one was really young, I would replace it. Otherwise, I would make sure he understood that it was a lesson learned.

Originally Posted by Geckmumto3 Can I ask who you would be mad at? Really? Would people really assume the childcare provider's children stole the missing toy? Rather than a normal kid misplacing his toy and forgetting where it is, you would assume malice on the part of other kids? I always tell parents to take toys home. If kids are obsessing over and clutching a hot wheel or a train or whatever, they are not doing what they should be doing with friends--- playing with two hands in a carefree manner.

Yeah, I cannot believe that people jump straight to someone stealing the toy. It's not some diamond encrusted heirloom. We are talking about a quality, mass produced product that could likely be replaced within hours.


[QUOTE=Ashleah143;15762874]

Originally Posted by Geckmumto3 Can I ask who you would be mad at? ________________ I would be mad in general but also upset with the sitter. Mainly because if she was watching my one child I would suspect she would be playing with him and keeping an eye on him the whole time. There should be by room for "lost toys". This would make me think she wasn't doing a great job watching him. I would also be upset with her not getting back to me. It's not "just a train" as someone else said. It's that child's train which they have make a "bond" with. Children favor certain toys and the sitter should keep looking or AT LEAST reply saying she hasn't found it or offer to buy a new one. I would never let her but a nice sitter would offer. I guess that's just me... I would be overall really distort with the whole situation.

Love the perfection. Honestly, I might have let you stick around for 20 minutes to look, but after that, I'd make a note to look for it when I am cleaning up. But, that would be it. Kids lose toys. It happens, even when the adults watching them know where they were.

Originally Posted by hishouseholdsix Thanks to everyone for sharing your opinions, and to everyone who expressed kind words about the loss of his lovey. I do realize that I'm a little sensitive about his train, but he's my baby and I hate to see him upset. With that being said, I'm not at all blaming her for the loss, I did find it frustrating however that there was a breakdown in communication. But, it's all over now and we've learned our lesson and moved forward. I would like to clarify a couple of things though. I did help her look for those 20 minutes, and I also paid her for an extra full hour to thank her for her time. I expressed to her when we got there and before we left that he thought of this train as a lovey, but I did not in any way blame her for its loss. I just wanted her to understand that it wasn't "just a train" to my DS. At any rate, it's over now and we are moving on and using it as an opportunity to teach the kids about being responsible for anything we leave the house with. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and respond!

ehh, I don't know how much communication is needed. I would not be updating you every hour or every day. I'd give it a couple of days and let you know I hadn't found it. I have a busy life. I don't have time to spend updating someone about a toy, even every couple of days.

Originally Posted by TinaDeanette Seriously, my kids can lose a toy in the bathroom!

Yup. It is amazing how easy it is to lose a toy.

[HugeBabyBoy]

Originally Posted by hishouseholdsix Thanks to everyone for sharing your opinions, and to everyone who expressed kind words about the loss of his lovey. I do realize that I'm a little sensitive about his train, but he's my baby and I hate to see him upset. With that being said, I'm not at all blaming her for the loss, I did find it frustrating however that there was a breakdown in communication. But, it's all over now and we've learned our lesson and moved forward. I would like to clarify a couple of things though. I did help her look for those 20 minutes, and I also paid her for an extra full hour to thank her for her time. I expressed to her when we got there and before we left that he thought of this train as a lovey, but I did not in any way blame her for its loss. I just wanted her to understand that it wasn't "just a train" to my DS. At any rate, it's over now and we are moving on and using it as an opportunity to teach the kids about being responsible for anything we leave the house with. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and respond!

We were out one day and lost our daughter's lovey... Gone lost FOREVER. I was devastated... I even cried! We replaced it, and the new lovey is loved even more!!

Transitional objects are so important to our lives, especially when we are little. They give comfort and familiarity.

I hope he enjoys his replacement lovey!