A mum who found her missing child in minutes using the 'looking loudly' search technique has been praised by other parents for sharing the idea.
Wedding photographer Krista Piper had taken her children to a play centre, which she described as "huge" with "lots of nooks and crannies".
She was talking to another mum while her three-year-old girl Lily was going back and fourth between play sets when she suddenly lost sight of her.
READ MORE: Met Eireann forecast major weather change with Ireland to be hotter than Sicily
Beginning to panic, Krista began yelling Lily's name - then a "lightbulb went off" and she remembered a TikTok video she had seen about a mum who lost her son at a supermarket.
In the video, rather than yelling her son's name, the parent shouted out a description of the clothes he was wearing and was able to find him faster, Mirror UK reports.
Taking to TikTok, Krista - who goes by the name @krista.piper - recalled: "So that is what I did. I stopped calling out her name, and I started yelling, 'little girl, pink shirt, pink Minnie Mouse shirt!'.
"I'm sure people thought that I was a little crazy, she was probably only missing for like a minute, to maybe a minute and a half, but for me it felt like eternity."
On reflection, Krista notes that she could have also added descriptors such as Lily's age or hair colour, but that was the quickest thing she could think of to say in the moment.
After Krista started yelling the description, she began to hear other mums repeating the same thing and minutes later another mum spotted Lily.
Krista said in the video, which has since been watched over 500,000 times: "If you ever lose your child, or dog or anything, yell out their description, raise your voice. You know, I probably looked like a crazy person, but it got the job done."
Other parents took to the comments to praise Krista for spreading the word. Many agreed that this was a far better method than simply shouting out a child's name.
One person said: "Yes! Yelling their name doesn't help because no one knows what Sally looks like, but they can pick out a three-year-old in a pink shirt and blue jeans."
Another wrote: "This is such incredible advice and any parent's worst nightmare. So thankful for mums pulling together to help find her. Good job mamma!"
A third applauded: "This is wonderful - thank you! I try to dress kids in bright clothes when we go to big places like that just for my own eyes but it’s a great idea."
READ NEXT:
Dangerous infection outbreak at Dublin hospital as 8 babies isolated in intensive care
Ex-Margaret Thatcher aide hits out at 'embarrassment' Joe Biden over Black and Tans gaffe
Irish Rail considering expanding 'quiet carriages' on more routes
Family steal theatre seats from group at bar before 'satisfying moment of karma' kicks in
Rachael Blackmore's Aintree rides on Friday include horse she thinks has a 'big future'
Get news updates direct to your inbox by signing up to our daily newsletter here
