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In an emotional plea on TVNZ's Close Up programme , the parents of Aisling Symes have pleaded for the return of their little girl.
Aisling's mother Angela said the two-year-old needs to be home with her parents, her sister and "those who love her and miss her so dreadfully".
The toddler disappeared from the Auckland suburb of Henderson on Monday evening and police fear she may have been abducted.
Her father Alan says the family just wants her home.
"It's time to give her back...time has been up for quite some time now," says Alan.
"Not knowing has been a huge strain for us."
Big sister Caitlin has been strong but Angela says as time goes on she is getting more and more upset and the five-year-old keeps asking if they are ever going to get Aisling back.
The couple say they have been questioning themselves as parents and wondering what they could have done to prevent the situation. But they say it happened in an instant. Angela says she was simply turning off the tap when Aisling went missing and she can't believe the speed with which it all happened.
Alan says the police have dozens of scenarios about what may have happened and where Aisling could be but the hardest thing for them is not knowing whether she is being looked after.
"We don't know if she's happy, if she's really upset."
The exhausted pair say they are getting very little sleep because they want to be there the minute there is any news.
"The thought that we might find something about her is driving us forward," says Alan.
The family is very grateful for the support of the wider community.
Customs on alert
Meanwhile, police are stepping up precautions to ensure Aisling is not taken out of the country as they admit they are no closer to solving the case.
Aisling's father Alan Symes immigrated to New Zealand from Ireland and the story has made the news in his home country as local efforts to find her intensify.
Police fear she may have been abducted.
Customs staff have been given photographs of Aisling and are getting briefings at the start of each shift.
"Continue to be vigilant in profiling children and minors at all times whilst on departures, please be aware Symes is on border alert," NZ Customs manager Eddie Kohlhase tells staff.
The toddler doesn't have a passport so they have to rely on photographs to identify her.
Police have intensively searched a three kilometre radius of the Longburn Road address and have asked local residents to thoroughly search their properties.
MP Pansy Wong and a team of Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin translators have joined police as they canvass Henderson streets, helping break down language barriers as they hand out posters of the missing girl.
Wong, referring to reports that an Asian woman was seen walking her dog near Aisling shortly before her disappearance, says they are explaining why police want to talk to Asian women. She says the Asian community has been very helpful and they are not sensitive about being targeted.
Meanwhile a west Auckland business owner is putting up a $3,000 incentive for information leading to the missing two-year-old. The owner of Comfort Zone, Andy Holbrow, says the case has affected him and his staff and he hopes the incentive of money will help in some way to get the little girl back home.
