Three-year-old, Maisie Phillips, had been taking her first trip on Nottingham's new tram line to Clifton with her parents on Tuesday evening.
Her father Anthony Phillips said he tried opening the doors but the driver refused to stop "for safety reasons".
Nottingham Express Transit (NET) said "lessons had been learnt" from it.
Mr Phillips said he got off at the next stop and ran half-a-mile back to Maisie, who was being looked after by another passenger.
"I'm glad Maisie didn't go wandering off anywhere, anything could have happened to her," he said.
"I was shouting to the driver but she said we had to wait until the next stop.
"I understand these are new trams but the doors closed stupidly quickly. If someone was disabled or elderly they wouldn't have got out quick enough."
Maisie had been spotted by Angela Wilkinson who had got off at the same stop.
She said: "I noticed she was on her own and was running away shouting 'mummy', 'daddy'. I just couldn't leave her.
"She was absolutely devastated. It was awful."
An NET representative apologised and said while the driver had closed the doors too quickly, she was "unable to stop once the tram was moving for safety reasons".
Their statement added that "lessons had been learnt" and drivers have since been reminded to look out for passengers who might need extra time or assistance getting on and off the trams.
A tram company has apologised after a toddler was left stranded at a stop when the doors closed before her parents could get off.