'It's very scary': Ada Choi recounts losing eldest daughter in public twice

As parents, one of the most worrying things when bringing your child out is to lose them in public.

Hong Kong actress Ada Choi revealed in the Chinese travel variety show Travel with the Royal Family recently that she had lost her eldest daughter Zoe twice when the latter was about two years old.

The cast of the show were chatting when Chinese actress Chen Sisi asked them: "What is the most ridiculous thing you have ever lost?"

"I lost my child before," Ada shared, to the surprise of the other members.

The 50-year-old said the first incident happened during a family trip to Macau when Zoe was two years old.

"I was carrying my youngest daughter. My family, including my parents and my husband, were all there. I was thinking maybe my aunt would be taking care of my eldest daughter, or her grandparents would," she recounted.

As they were getting into a taxi, they realised that Zoe was not with them.

"My aunt asked me, 'Where's your daughter?' I thought she might be riding the cab with her grandparents. My aunt went over to the other vehicle to take a look and realised that she was also not there," Ada said.

As they all looked around for Zoe, they saw her standing a distance away, speaking to a man, who was asking her where her parents were.

While Ada laughed as she recounted the incident, she added: "It was very scary."

Ada married Chinese martial arts actor Max Zhang in 2008 and shares Zoe, 13, Chloe, 11, as well as son Joey, four, with him.

And that was not the only time it happened, as she revealed she lost Zoe again when they visited Disneyland, also when she was about two years old.

She shared that after their photo-taking, they queued for the ride It's a Small World.

"As we were queuing, we looked around suddenly and asked, 'Where's our eldest?' My husband said, 'Aren't you looking after her?' I responded, 'I was finding a place for the baby pram, how could I be looking after her?'" Ada said.

When they went out of the line, they found Zoe standing outside, waving to them.

"Oh my goodness, it's such a tough year for your daughter when she was two," Chinese actress Xi Lan commented.

While some netizens blamed Ada for being "too careless" for losing Zoe twice in public, other netizens came to her defence, sharing that other family members should also be responsible for taking care of the child.

A netizen wrote: "Those who blame Ada, are you okay? She was carrying her youngest daughter with both hands and thought that her family members would look after her eldest daughter. Where had the family gone? Do you blame Ada for not having four pairs of hands?"

"Why did her family members not help to take care of her daughter? Is taking care of a child while outside solely the responsibility of a mum?" another commented.

Netizens also shared their worries as parents bringing their child out.

"It's not easy being a mum," a netizen wrote.

Ada appeared to have gotten better with experience. In March last year, she brought her three children to Singapore on her own and expressed her worries at the beginning of the trip, adding that she accepted a "big challenge". It turned out to be an enjoyable trip where they "didn't leave behind anything".

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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