Recently I was talking with another mom about preventing our toddlers/preschoolers from getting lost in crowded places. As parents, we like to take our children to festivals, museums, aquariums, amusement parks etc. These places have many people in close proximity of one another and children are at a greater risk of getting lost.
The other mom and I discussed strategies we’ve seen other parents use such as keeping the child in the stroller or using the child leash backpacks. I shared what has worked for me in the past thus far.
Below is a video with the Safety tips mentioned in this blog post.
Name Tag Stickers
I write, with a sharpie marker, “If lost, please call my mommy’s cell phone at…” on a name tag sticker. Then I place the name tag sticker on my son’s back so he won’t take it off.
Some parents make this permanent by writing their phone numbers inside the child’s shoe or shoe string.
Teaching Children Phone numbers
My son also knows the home address and our individual (my husband and I) cell phone numbers. I taught him this information by creating catchy songs and chants. We sing and shout the songs/chants around the house so it is engrained in his brain. I have also written this information on the dry erase board hanging near our dining table. By viewing this information every day, my son can internalize it subconsciously.
Teach Your Child Your Birth Name
If your child is lost, it will be difficult to distinguish his/her voice if multiple children are shouting “Mommy!” Therefore, my husband and I ensured our son knows our birth names. He finds it fascinating that we have names other than mommy and daddy. He also knows how to spell our names just in case someone can’t understand him. Again, we taught him this through songs, repetition, and writing it on our dry erase board.
Child ID Card
Another strategy is to have an ID card made for your child. My son received his first ID card at 2 years old at a festival. The County Sherriff office had a booth set up where they made Child ID cards instantly. The cards contained the child’s age, photo, thumbprint, weight, date of birth, race, gender, hair and eye color, and issue date. On the back, it gives tips on what to do if your child is lost.
The Sheriff Office recommends the card be updated yearly for children two and over. For children two and under, the card should be updated every six months due to changes in appearance as they grow.
If your child is lost, the ID card provides documentation containing the child’s information, arming law enforcement with facts to immediately start a search.
Call your local Sherriff Office to inquire about Child ID cards.
Teach your Child what to do and Role Pay
Let’s not forget the old fashion way of looking your child in the eye and firmly giving them direction. This includes telling the child to…
- Walk beside mommy and daddy
- Hold your hand in crowded places
- Once you arrive somewhere, identify staff who can help your child
- Identify something distinct about the staff such as…
- Similar color uniform
- Name tag
- Once you’ve taught your child what to do, role play with them!
- Identify something distinct about the staff such as…
Tell us your tips in the comments!
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Be safe and have fun!
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my parents had child ID cards for us. very helpful. very interesting about writing on the shoe strings. i’d never seen that before.
Joy at The Joyous Living
Thank you for your comment!! Yes I thought putting the information on shoes strings was clever. My friend suggested this.
I just realized we never talk to my kids about this. Thank you so much for opening my eyes!
No problem Renee! Thank you for reading!