Name: briseis Title: Don't forget the baby!

OTTAWA (AFP) - Tickets, check. Passports, check. Luggage, check. Baby ... oops.

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A family boarded a flight on Monday in westernmost Canada, and forgot their tot at the Vancouver international airport, media said Tuesday.

The 23-month-old boy's family had just arrived in Canada from the Philippines, but they were forced to repack their overweight bags before catching a connecting flight to Winnipeg, causing them to run late.

In their sprint to the gate, the family became separated.

The boy's father Jun Parreno, told local media he had thought his son was with his wife and the boy's grandparents, who ran ahead. They thought the boy was with his dad.

On the plane, the family members were seated separately and so did not immediately realize they had left the child behind.

Sometime later, a security guard found the boy, who speaks no English, wandering near the departure gate, and Air Canada officials tracked down his shocked parents on the flight.

Because the boy was so young, he was not issued a boarding pass and would have sat on a parent's lap during the flight, so airline personnel did not notice a passenger was missing.

According to the Vancouver Sun, airport security found a Tagalog-speaking Air Canada agent who looked after the child while his father flew 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) back to Vancouver to pick him up and then return to Winnipeg to rejoin the immigrant family on their first day in Canada.

The baby was kept in Air Canada's offices and staff found him some toys, said local media.

"Air Canada took good care of him," Parreno told the daily Winnipeg Free Press upon arrival. "I'm grateful."  ?

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Name: lindalu • Date: 05/13/2008 18:43:25

I can only wonder what the parents must have thought when they discovered their child was missing. The poor parents!  =

Name: cjsims • Date: 05/14/2008 07:40:59

Poor parents my butt. I don't know about others, but I think that was just negligence. I know, I know, It can happen to anyone, but, in an AIRPORT, where the kid could be taken by anyone, or run off anywhere, parents need to be MUCH more aware of what the child is doing, and where they are at. I'm not an advocate of these by any means, BUT, in a crowded airport, a child leash would be in use.  =

Name: briseis • Date: 05/14/2008 07:46:48

I'm planning on getting a leash thingy for Joey for when he's walking alongside me - One of those harness things which strap onto him and the other end ties round my wrist.  =

Name: zoey9810 • Date: 05/14/2008 08:54:49

Ya thats really sad, its ike that movie home alone.... yes the parents should of been more aware and had better communication skills with each other, but given the circumstances of them running around the place, it could of happened to any one. and May be this is one of their first time in a Big air port like that. and Maybe where they live they dont have access to things like child leashes. I think those Child Leash things are horrible, If your cant keep an eye on them then they need to be in a stroller or carried with you. I worked at babies R us and a few weeks ago a guy came in asking if we had the retractable Leashes that they use on dogs? We told him that they are used for dogs and Try the pet store next door!  =

Name: briseis • Date: 05/14/2008 10:09:44

It's for the good of the child. a mother only needs to turn her back for 2 seconds and a perv could come long and take her child, but if the child is leashed with a little harness, the perv can't take the child.

Plus it's better to encourage the kid to walk than to be pushed or carried all the time.  =

Name: cjsims • Date: 05/14/2008 10:27:38

I feel soooo lucky. My little guy likes to walk right next to me, holding my hand. That is just what we've always done pretty much since the day he started walking. He goes in the stroller or shopping cart, if we are at a big shopping center or grocery store. We don't carry him across parking lots. He gets out of the car with us, and walks with one or both of us holding his hand(s). I honestly think we've "trained" him, if that makes sense, since we started doing this when he was so young. He loves to do it, and we've never had a problem with him trying to get away from us. I'v e even taken him on short walks around the neighborhood with him just holding my hand.  =

Name: lindalu • Date: 05/14/2008 10:29:05

Cjsims

The parents thought the child was with the grand parents. I don't see neglect in this case.  =

Name: lindalu • Date: 05/14/2008 10:33:50

Also the article doesn't state the detailed circumstances as to how the child in fact got left behind. I'm sure the parents didn't send the child of to play in the air port and then simply for get him.  =

Name: Randi • Date: 05/14/2008 11:32:09

They had to repack their bags! I can see how if there was a big group and you are trying to catch a connecting flight it could happen. I am the one who usually takes my son when we are in an airport, but imagine how crazy moving to another country would be.

Oh, and Vancouver airport is always crazy. Especially domestic.

ALSO: I hate Air Canada. If they would have flown with West Jet the kid would have had way more fun and been fed awesome snack mix.  =

Name: bebe9281 • Date: 05/14/2008 14:30:49

I don't like those leash things either.... What the hell ever happend to "HOLD MY HAND!!!!"  =

Name: marija • Date: 05/15/2008 05:52:57

ummmm I have done this in a shop...told hubby had to take youngest to the toilet, "watch the toddler"....as usual HE HEARD NOTHING!
I see him wandering around outside window shopping and say "where is Jacob?"...he says looking at me standing with only the baby "hes with you?!?!?!"... DICKHEAD!

luckily we found him in the shop still destroying some clothes...*SIGH*  =

Name: marija • Date: 05/15/2008 05:58:52

Yes you are more vigilant at airports. But if you have ever been in a international airport you may understand a bit better. My kids are seasoned travellers, but we have had to run around like chooks with no heads trying to catch links or because luggage has been misplaced. The distances between gates or domestic and international can be literally miles. I can see how easily this could of happened. They had the two biggest things working against them...They got split up and thought each other had the baby...it can happen to anyone! and second they werent sitting together...so they couldnt physically see he wasnt there until it was too late.
Dont be too harsh on the poor parents.  =