Hi All,
I am registered but posting without logging in because of the situation. Let me first say I am super upset and at a loss of of what to do and feeling like closing the daycare down and would appreciate any advise or support you guys can give me.

I have a small daycare with 6 kids max. We had six today and my assistant and I took the kids in the strollers to the park. We do this usually 2X a week for the last more than one year and the park is so fun for them, we have never had a problem. I have one girl who is a "runner" and she does often start running off away from the group. She is just turned 2 this summer, I usually give her 1-2 warnings then put her in the stroller if she keeps running off. We have another boy who is the same age and these two play together all the time. Well, today I have one infant with me and we are all together playing, I turned to put the baby in the stroller, then looked up and counted and we were missing 2 kids! My assistant didn't see which way they went and I didn't either. She looked one way I ran down the trail a ways to try to catch up with them. I didn't see them, she didn't see them. I keep going around looking and calling and she started asking other people in the park if they had seen them. Finally just as I was about the call the police two of the people we had asked found them and brought them back. I was so stressed and crying and upset. I guess we are not going back to the park for a long, long time. But that really sucks since I try let them be in nature often. Both kids don't really understand, I tried to talk to them, but they don't get it. I'm not sure if there is even a point to tell the parents, since they would probably just get upset and not be able to do much else. Anyways, I feel awful, but I didn't do anything wrong, I was paying attention the whole time and counting the kids as I always do. Those two are just runners and got together and went! Thanks for reading and any advise.

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