Protect Your Children!

[wiigirl]

We always make something our girls can wear and not take off just in case. Of course we make sure its waterproof and sturdy and that it has all the important info on it, ph#, parents names, resort we're staying at, etc.

You just never know!

We do that too. My husband keeps wanting to "lo-jack" them though...

 

[dopeylover]

My husband is in law enforcement, and I have heard and he has lived enough horror stories that I am surprised my husband hasn't ducted taped my daughter to his body, much less let her out of the house. Obviously the best thing is to keep your children near, and while it is very often a careless, negligent parent whose child is lost or injured, the truth of the matter is it could happen to anyone. We watch our daughter like hawks, but there has been an instance at the zoo where her excitement got the best of her, and her little hand slipped out of mine, and off she went running. If that has never happened to you as a parent, you deserve the parent of the century award, and I'd like to shake your hand.

I think the tattoos are an amazing idea, and we plan on using them when we go. I think putting it in a less conspicuous place like the inner wrist or ankle is best so it's still obvious, but not everyone can walk right up top your kids and see their name in the outside of their arms. I think telling them the name of your resort helps as well. The more info. they know, the better!

 

[SugarMagnolia]

We used the Safety Tats last year with our 22 month old grandson. On the first day, we put one on the back of his arm (so it wouldn't be in too many pictures) and it stayed on there and readable all week.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

You can also use dog tags and have the info put on them. I have heard that you can go to most pet stores and they will do it for you or you can order them online. I was thinking of this and putting them on a necklace for my girls. The saftey tattoos are also something I'm looking into as well.

You could get one of the Disney dog tags when you get to the park. They have them in RnRC and other locations. They are usually only 10.00 and 2.00 for a chrome chain that doesn't tarnish. My daughter has worn hers for a long time, and it still looks good.

 

[MouseGear]

Any child under the age of 3 should be on reins/leash. We had some lovely Winnie the Pooh reins when our Son was 18 months old and lots of parents asked where we got them from (Mothercare in the UK)

http://www.babythings4u.com/item/buy-tommee-tippee-winnie-the-pooh-harness--reins-uk

 

[BigRedDad]

I have always been told that a child never gets lost at WDW. It is the parents that get lost. With that being said, my brother got lost in the early 70s when Mickey roamed around the park at will with no handlers. He came up to my brother, held his hand, and the two went walking off. I don't remember because I was too little. The other time I went with just my daughter, she was walking right with me. We made a turn, she went around a pole on one side, me the other. She wound up walking just far enough where I couldn't see her. She was only "lost" for a few seconds, but if she kept walking, it would have been much longer.

I think those bracelets from Road ID or the tats are good ideas. I also have personal business cards that I will put in her pocket. She knows who those can be shown.

 

[Jennibelle]

Thanks for the tip

 

[Tishypops]

This terrifies me more than anything, my children know that when ever we go out they hold my hands at all times but on our next trip my eldest DD will be 8 so I am not sure I will get away with it quite so much. I love the medical bracelet idea as they are so durable.

 

[disneysince71]

When are kids where young we would take a permanent marker and write our name and phone number on both there hands...

 

[CaptainShortty]

As a CM who has helped many lost children reunite with their parents the best advice I can give you is as follows.

1. Make sure your child knows their full name and your full names.
2. If you are staying on property put your cell phone number(s) on your reservation when you check in.

If your child gets lost within the resort and your child knows their name and your names, we can look up the reservation and call you with whatever number is on fill. Additionally, Guest Relations has access to the hotel reservation system so they can do the same. Any manager can radio to GR and get the same information and give you a call.

For younger children the bands or tattoos are a great idea. Makes it very easy for us.

 

[EOD K9]

You can also take a picture of your child that day for two reasons. One, you remember exactly what they were wearing when you give the description of them, and two, you can print off a copy and give it GR or whoever may need it whilst looking for the little one.

 

[Tishypops]

I was actually thinking about that this morning

 

[happyturtle]

I had army dog tags made for my children. It has their name, birth date, my phone number and blood type since my oldest daughter is o neg.

 

[Gabe1]

Maybe it's just me but having your childs name displayed anywhere on them doesn't seem like such a good idea. Same goes for the parents name. That allows a stranger to be able to approach them and call them by name or refer to your name making the child think they can trust them. Which for a frightened or lost child would be comforting assumming it was coming from someone with good intentions. So while all these are good suggestions, I think ommitting their name from things like wristbands or badges would be best.

Something clever I've seen that probably doesn't apply to anyone on here was a badge on a child stating that they only spoke French.

I'm in your camp. Our District always reminds parents not to put names visible on backpacks, coats, necklaces anything that a stranger could see.

We made about 25 trips with our two kids and never misplaced them once though I did find a few lost ones in the water parks, that seems to be the only place parents seemed to get lost. The best suggestion I ever heard was as you started the day was to take a picture on your camera or cell of the family, if anyone got lost you had a photo of exactly what they looked like and were dressed in.

 

[Vader2112]

While I agree with several of you that having your childs name prominently displayed is not a great idea. I do feel that the safety tatoo is a good idea as it can be placed under a sleve or pant leg and not immediately visible plus it just says if lost please call and provides the phone number to the parent(s).

 

[BiffyClyro]

They would never do that in England! Mehh free health care though, so nae complaining

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

This is my first post, but have visited this site for years! I love this thread. Something we have done since our DD was old enough to walk, was to place DH's business card in her pocket. It contains his cell number on it. We also taught her how to locate workers by their uniforms and badges and to show them the business card if she gets lost. We have used it everywhere, from amusement parks, to sports stadiums and department stores. She even carries them on field trips at school. It would not work in pools, but it's great for dry areas.

 

[ThatBrunette]

I sent my very paranoid friend to WDW with a few safety tips.

1. Introduce your child to a security guard at the front gate. Explain that cast members wear different costumes throughout the park but they all have white ID tags. (point out tag on security guard) Tell child to find a security guard or a cast member. (Occasionally, the security guard will have a Mickey Mouse Security sticker)

2. Pick a meeting spot. Since the parks are so large, this is good for older children. This will be the place everyone will meet if someone gets lost.

3. If you cannot get the ID tattoos, give children an ID badge. You can get self-laminating ID pockets at office supply stores. Secure it to the inside of a younger child's clothes or allow older children to wear it, info facing in, with their lanyards. You might want to put your cell number and the name of your resort on the card.

4. Take a picture of your child each morning. It's easier to show a picture than to give a description. All adults in the group should have a picture of each of the kids in the group.

My friend did these things and wrote her cell number on her kids' arms with a Sharpie pen.

 

[Hot Lava]

Hersheypark in PA has an area right inside the gates where they will give you a wristband and on the inside there is space for all that information. The employees there know to look for the red wristband on a lost child---I saw many children walking around with them last week when I was there.

We had these when we went there once. What we did (and it may have been that an employee recommended this) was put the band around the ankle. Less likely for him to try to pull off, if nothing else.