How do you keep your kids safe in the parks?

[loiamve]

This is a wonderfully helpful thread! My sister suggested writing with a sharpie on my sons' wrists and then covering with liquid band-aid to keep from smearing or wearing off. I think I will go with that and the dog tag on the shoes. Thanks all!

 

[lolobug]

We got it on clearance for about $10. Not sure how much one is regular price. There are so many different types. We just went with the most basic flip phone.

I've seen a few around $10 and the minutes are about $20. That's totally reasonable, I think the tracfone with my 5 year old will be the way to go. Thank you!

 

[melifeld]

We have used Safety Tats. They are kids "tattoos" that have your phone number on them. There are 2 kinds. Preprinted with your phone number so all you do is apply them, or the kind you write on. They are just temporary tattoos that stick right on your child's skin and usually last a couple of days and come in multi packs. Just bring along some mineral or baby oil to remove the remnants of the old one before applying a new one, otherwise they are hard to remove with just soap and water. But that is the whole point!

 

[lolobug]

We have used Safety Tats. They are kids "tattoos" that have your phone number on them. There are 2 kinds. Preprinted with your phone number so all you do is apply them, or the kind you write on. They are just temporary tattoos that stick right on your child's skin and usually last a couple of days and come in multi packs. Just bring along some mineral or baby oil to remove the remnants of the old one before applying a new one, otherwise they are hard to remove with just soap and water. But that is the whole point!

Where do you get these?

 

[lolobug]

Not sure if the site but we got bracelets made with their name, our names and cell #. It's the rubber ones. We used them for many years.

I saw these, kid id bracelets. They look like the LIVSTRONG bracelets, right? I was afraid my 2 year old would take this off.

 

[KaLyn]

Where do you get these?

Not sure which site melifeld used, but I've found them here...

http://www.safetytat.com

 

[kiramay]

I wrote my cell number down the forearm of my 2 yo with a sharpie. I also recently bought "if I'm lost, please call" bracelets for the boys.

Ds2 was in the stroller and the other two ds7 had to hold an adults hand if it was crowded.

 

[lolobug]

I wrote my cell number down the forearm of my 2 yo with a sharpie. I also recently bought "if I'm lost, please call" bracelets for the boys. Ds2 was in the stroller and the other two ds7 had to hold an adults hand if it was crowded.

Sounds like a great idea, thanks!

 

[SamSam]

Where do you get these?

We got ours through Amazon.com. We used them for twin grandsons when they had just turned 2 and again when they were 2 1/2. They worked wonderfully, second trip they actually stayed on 7 days, through baths, daily pool time, etc...just make sure you follow the directions.

We also (even though they were in a stroller most of the time) introduced them to several different cm's and explained to them (the grandsons) that if Bam-maw and Paw-paw every got lost that they were to go to the people that worked at WDW (which they now knew how to recognize) and tell them we were lost and to show them thier tattoos with our cell phone numbers on them.

They were very proud of those tattoos!

 

[disneyfan1992]

My 2.5 yo twins would NOT wear their magic bands. We tried at home, we tried at WDW, no go.

They also would not wear dog tags around their necks, nor would I want them to play with a long necklace at 2.5 yo (strangulation risk).

Based on recommendation from here, we ordered 2 custom made silicone wristbands from Shanrene.com. Its the only website I found that let you order just 1 laser engraved band if that was all that was needed. Most places had a minimum order of 50+. It was cheap too.. even just for 2 bands + shipping.

Easy to order online. Order shipped quick. Bands printed correctly. We put on kids' ankles so they wouldn't play with them and try to take them off. They resisted them on their ankles at first, but had no choice. Within a 1/2 hour or so, they would forget they were wearing them and leave them alone.

http://www.shanrene.com/page/001/CON/custom-wristband-info

Note - The website offers 2 sizes of silicone bands at no extra cost - Standard and Small. We ordered the SMALL size because our kids were small and we didn't want them to flop around on the ankle and be a distraction. The bands fit perfect for their age.

However, for kids 3 and older, I would go with the standard size as I can see that I will need to reorder new ones soon as kids are getting bigger. We use the bands even here at home when we are going out to large events, so it was not just a 1x purchase/1x use. They can be used at home too.

We felt much better knowing that they had ID on them as they did dart away a few times when something caught their eye. They didn't get far and were more in danger of bumping into someone / another stroller and falling down and getting hurt than of truly getting lost. But they had those ID bracelets on their ankles just in case.

 

[LindaBabe]

PAY ATTENTION to the children AND your surroundings. It's so easy for both you and the children to get distracted - by different things - in the sensory rich environment of the parks. Other people are equally distracted, so you can't count on THEM to watch out for YOU. I would say MINDFULNESS is the number one thing you can do for your own safety, theirs, and that of the folks around you.

 

[Gracie09]

We use temporary tattoos with our cell numbers on them and when we are walking through crowds kid handles we bought from greater than two kids.

 

[lolobug]

We got ours through Amazon.com. We used them for twin grandsons when they had just turned 2 and again when they were 2 1/2. They worked wonderfully, second trip they actually stayed on 7 days, through baths, daily pool time, etc...just make sure you follow the directions. We also (even though they were in a stroller most of the time) introduced them to several different cm's and explained to them (the grandsons) that if Bam-maw and Paw-paw every got lost that they were to go to the people that worked at WDW (which they now knew how to recognize) and tell them we were lost and to show them thier tattoos with our cell phone numbers on them. They were very proud of those tattoos!

I love this! Glad to hear you two didn't get lost! Hehe

 

[melifeld]

Not sure which site melifeld used, but I've found them here...

http://www.safetytat.com

Yes. This is the website I used. Sorry I didn't check back with the thread sooner!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

My 2 yo wouldn't keep the MB on. We practiced at home, but once we were there he kept taking it off so we left it off. That's why I liked the shoe ID. Looking around while we were there, we saw lots of other kids with I'd tags on their shoe too, so I'm guessing that CM's are likely to look for them.

I like the shoe tag idea…but…his shoes aren't compatible LOL, and for once I'm not going to run out and get a new pair of shoes for WDW just to make it work…

But what if the kid was language delayed

Can you make pictures of different things that you think the child might want to see-cover them in contact paper and put them on a ring so that the child can communicate with you? You should be able to do this with stores, rides, and food on the internet.

I worry about a wrist band with my two year old. I'm going to use a shoe tag on her. I just wish I could microchip her like my pets! Lol (I'm joking!)

Lol, hubby and I have that conversation all the time. That sure would take away some of the worrying!

TOTALLY agree with the microchip and was hoping MB's would take some of that away…unfortunately it doesn't sound like they are being used that way, which is really weird b/c you would have though it's WDW -they have thought of everything!

 

[ddpaints]

I went to the local pet store and had tags made for both of my kids with "I'm lost please call" and mine and my husband's cell numbers on them. Instead of attaching them to shoes (since sometimes we change shoes for dinner outings etc) I put them on the stretchy key ring bracelets you get when you go to a pool and have a locker (I hope that was clear ) and we put them on the kids ankles. It's very easy to "accidentally" pull one off your wrist and it's also just plain annoying (or it would be to me) to have something dangling from your arm. I just keep repeating the "what do you do" with them every time we leave the room. By the second day DD4 and DS7 will tell you the drill and even point out the CM as soon as we get to the park. A few times I found myself rushing out the door for dinner reservations and the kids would start yelling that they didn't have their tags on and we couldn't leave. I shy away from putting my kids names anywhere visible because I wouldn't want the wrong person to call their name and them to go with them. As always be aware of where your child is and if you stop to look at a map or performer make your child hold your hand. They can get disinterested quicker then we do.

 

[lolobug]

I went to the local pet store and had tags made for both of my kids with "I'm lost please call" and mine and my husband's cell numbers on them. Instead of attaching them to shoes (since sometimes we change shoes for dinner outings etc) I put them on the stretchy key ring bracelets you get when you go to a pool and have a locker (I hope that was clear ) and we put them on the kids ankles. It's very easy to "accidentally" pull one off your wrist and it's also just plain annoying (or it would be to me) to have something dangling from your arm. I just keep repeating the "what do you do" with them every time we leave the room. By the second day DD4 and DS7 will tell you the drill and even point out the CM as soon as we get to the park. A few times I found myself rushing out the door for dinner reservations and the kids would start yelling that they didn't have their tags on and we couldn't leave. I shy away from putting my kids names anywhere visible because I wouldn't want the wrong person to call their name and them to go with them. As always be aware of where your child is and if you stop to look at a map or performer make your child hold your hand. They can get disinterested quicker then we do.

Thank you! I feel the same way about having their names visible (too many creeps out there). Great advice, thanh you VERY much!

 

[PGHDisneyfan]

We have stick on tattoos that you can write your name and number on if your kids get lost which you can find on line. Also we snap a pic of our kids right before we leave the hotel room so we can pass it along to a CM should anything happen.

 

[PGHDisneyfan]

Oh ya at night time I put jogging strobes on their shirts so I can see them better

 

[MacDalt]

We started our safety process/policy when they could walk - setting the ground rules of staying with us and not wandering off and DEFINITELY not running away. We practiced every time we were in a store or public place and there was always a consequence if they tried to run from me. I did this with my oldest because I didn't want to look like a fool running after a toddler yelling his name and begging him to come back to me while he ran down an aisle giggling thinking it was a game. When the other two were born, they were only 19 months apart, so it was even more important - a 5 year old, 19 month old, and a newborn, plus I always had my toddler/preschool daycare kids with me as well. No room for running/wandering away nonsense in our excursions!

Fast forward 5-7 years and I didn't even think about losing my kids at Disney. No need for leashes, dog tags, bracelets, hand-holding, etc because we did all the practicing they needed from the time they took their first steps. Made it much easier on Mommy, and kept them safe!

Our family rule for *if* we get separated is, now that they are 13, 9, and 8 and are allowed to be anywhere in the same general area as DH or I - basically, if they can see us, they can go that far (it is their responsibility to make sure they can see us at all times), they are to go back to the place where they last saw me, because that is the first place I will go to look for them, and the place I will keep going back to to check to see if they got there. The child is to stay in one place (the last place they remember seeing me or DH or big brother) and the adults/teen will do the searching.

Boy! Thinking back to those toddler days....I am glad I was a "mean" mom!!!!

Fantastic!