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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Most_Squirrel_6804 on 2025-06-03 22:47:19+00:00.

So I (26M) was at IKEA last weekend, wandering through the maze of fake rooms and existential dread. I passed the kids’ section and saw this toddler standing alone, crying his eyes out. No adult in sight. I crouched down, tried to calm him, and asked where his parents were. He pointed vaguely toward the cafeteria. I didn’t want to just leave him there, so I gently took his hand and said, “Let’s find someone who works here.”

Just as we turn a corner, a woman screams. Turns out she was in the next aisle and saw me walk off with her kid. Security got involved. She was crying. The kid was now crying more. I was trying to explain that I didn’t abduct her child, just trying to help, but I don’t think anyone was listening over the chaos.

Eventually it got cleared up, and the mom actually apologized once she calmed down. I got a free cinnamon roll and a mild panic attack.

TL;DR: Tried to help a lost kid at IKEA. Got mistaken for a kidnapper. Scarred myself and probably the child for life.