Branding the kiddos

[Oceana]

ok so a hot iron isnt the best way to brand my kids... what works? I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Last time we went my now 3 year old was 1... but he knew to come when we called... our newest son who is 1 does not... and 3 year olds are not always the most honest with not pretending to hear mom when she calls

so how shall I mark my kids so I dont loose them?

ID bracelets? Dog tags? tatoos?

thanks
julie

 

[JMCDisneyBound]

I used a name tag for our DD3 last trip. I printed them off of mouseforless.com(see below) and laminated them then safety pinned one to her shirt each day. I made 3 or 4 just in case we lost one. It included her name as well as ours, where we were staying and our cell numbers. We did lose one on POTC ride and a CM called to tell us they had found it. I think this worked great, we got a lot of positive comments!!

http://www.mouseforless.com/downloads/kids/id.shtml

 

[alloyd1170]

I got my kids stainless steel id bracelets from Childs Id. They wear them 24/7 at home. On the front they have a design and their name, on the back info like dob, phone #s etc. These run about $26, but Ive seen some new laser engraved ones for around $15 (plus the more you buy the better the deal). These have a design on front with info on back.

alison

 

[Pixiedust34]

We bought bracelets from this site:

http://www.idonme.com/

My dh is an avid runner and his bracelet holds up in all weather conditions. He even went swimming with it on and there was no damage to the ID information inside.

 

[brandylouwho]

I am using tyvek bracelets (disposable, like the kind that mark you are over 21 when you go to a fair). I wrote mom's cell #, dad's cell# (we'll have our phones along at all times) and grandma's ph#, who will be back home. If we get separated she could always talk to grandma while the CMs work at finding us. I think I paid $4 for 12 bracelets.

I bought them through our daycare center, but they sell the same bracelets on myfamilycd.com

 

[PrincessV]

LOL, this is a great thread! My DS4 won't wear anything on him - bracelet, necklace, tag pinned to his shirt- so I'm really struggling with this. I've been putting one of my business cards with my cell phone number and hotel info, if applicable, in his shorts pocket and hoping A. he remembers it's there to show someone if he gets lost or B. a CM will think to look in pockets.
I've heard others say they get a pet ID tag made and string it on a necklace or attach it to a shoe, so I'm thinking about that one too.

 

[mask_w03]

Just got the "who's shoes ID" and love them. You could even go get a dog tag made for them and put it on a chain for them to wear and I've read some parents on here have used sharpies to write their cell phone # on their childs arm incase they are lost.

 

[java]

LOL, this is a great thread! My DS4 won't wear anything on him - bracelet, necklace, tag pinned to his shirt- so I'm really struggling with this. I've been putting one of my business cards with my cell phone number and hotel info, if applicable, in his shorts pocket and hoping A. he remembers it's there to show someone if he gets lost or B. a CM will think to look in pockets.
I've heard others say they get a pet ID tag made and string it on a necklace or attach it to a shoe, so I'm thinking about that one too.

I would hope a CM wouldn't be looking in kid's pockets- can you imagine the lawsuits! Is there anyway you could put the info on a sticker and stick it to his back? I have a friend that writes her cell number on her child's hand whenever they go out so that if she gets lost they can call her- even her 2 year old understands to show her hand. But all that being said I have 4 children that have all gone to Disney several times and they are wanderers. We kept a sharp eye on them and taught them to go to a CM if they got lost. The little ones we taught to go to the cash register- they understood that better than a CM. And tell them you are lost. This year we ended up with 2 extra children throughout our trip. All got reunited within minutes. We stayed with one little boy because he wouldn't let go of my hand. He didn't want to go with the CM. So we waited.....Poor little guy and those poor parents that is a terrible feeling.

 

[allaboutmm]

Get green Mickeys from Homedepot, hole punch, using a sharpie put your cell phone # , contact paper it for protection, tie ribbon through it, lace through a part of the shoelace. And there ya go. I made a couple of extra and brought w/ me just incase.

 

[blessdmommy]

We had 2 dog tags engraved by
www.armynavy.com
for $5.95 w/free shipping. We attached them to the kiddos shoes.
Reasons I liked them best
not readable by passersby but definitely noticeable in case the child was lost
our kids left them alone which they wouldn't do with bracelets or necklaces
WATERPROOF
cheap

(bought kidtagz for shoes and the writing smeared badly, so we went with the engraved tag idea)

HTH

 

[JennyW]

I came up with a really great solution to this one almost by accident. It was a big "Duh!!" moment for me. Shrinky Dinks! Write your resort name and your cell phone number on Shrinky Dinks pretty big, then bake them. It's hard, it's waterproof, it's CHEAP. Be sure to punch a hole with a holepunch before you bake it. If you punch a couple of holes next to each other, it gives a bigger hole to thread a loop.

jenny

 

[alloyd1170]

I believe CMs are not allowed to search pockets, inside shirts, etc for id. So unless your child remembers and is able to pull something out of a pocket, youre going to need something on the outside. Shoe tags are a great option too.

My kids love their id bracelets. My son has a train on his (worn one since he was 2) and my daughter (just turned 1) has an ocean scene with her name. It only took about a day for them to get used to wearing them and they rarely come off anymore. They have a special clasp too which is tough to open. Theyre engraved and not readable unless you really look at them. They wear them swimming, etc. They get noticed as many think theyre medical ids.

alison

 

[webairs]

I used a name tag for our DD3 last trip. I printed them off of mouseforless.com(see below) and laminated them then safety pinned one to her shirt each day. I made 3 or 4 just in case we lost one. It included her name as well as ours, where we were staying and our cell numbers. We did lose one on POTC ride and a CM called to tell us they had found it. I think this worked great, we got a lot of positive comments!!

http://www.mouseforless.com/downloads/kids/id.shtml

You lost the label or your DD3? LOL. Couldn't resist seeing that I am the most "overprotective mother" according to my DH. I can't wait to take the kids on our first trip in September , but also fretting about losing them . I am going to use your name tag idea for sure. Thanks!

 

[HRPro]

I made a tag at the self-service machine at Walmart. DD5 picked out a heart shaped tag. I put her first name only and my cell phone # on it. I then used leather cord for making necklaces and she wore that at WDW in June. She wants to wear it all the time. Which is fine with me.

I have also heard that if you take tape (masking, duct, etc.) and write vital info on it and put just under the armpit (on the shirt) CMs will look there when a child has lost their adult. We all know that kids never get lost, its us adults who get lost

I also gave my DD5 a walkie talkie. I am a single mom and it was just the two of us on the trip. We practiced what to do if I got lost at DWD.

Looking forward to April '07 trip DGM & DGP will be coming too

 

[PrincessV]

Get green Mickeys from Homedepot, hole punch, using a sharpie put your cell phone # , contact paper it for protection, tie ribbon through it, lace through a part of the shoelace. And there ya go. I made a couple of extra and brought w/ me just incase.

Ooo, ooo, ooo! I did think of that, but figured it would be too big. BUT you just gave me a great idea - scan the AGMH, doctor it up in your software of choice, decrease size, print, laminate, attach to shoe! I *think* DS would be okay sith this since it IS Mickey. (He's really, really weird about extras being placed on him )

 

[Precious1971]

I love the idea of the name tags. Will have to do this for my DDs when we go.
Thanks for the great items.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I print a family photo wallet size, write our cell phone numbers on the back, laminate, punch a hole and tie to waist pack or belt loop. That way kid can say "I'm with these people". Thankfully we've never had to test it out.

 

[zimaaaaah]

When we went last year and took our kids for the first time, I was petrified we would lose them, especially the 4 year old! I saw an ad for these great engraved metal i.d. bars that you lace their shoelaces thru. They aren't big like some of the shoe labels so they don't get in the way or let people read their names from a distance. We put our names and cell phone #'s on them so if they did get lost, they just had to tell a Disney worker to "read my shoe"! They really worked great for us and were not expensive at all. Just another alternative to hot iron branding to consider!

 

[mom_of_2_princesses]

Someone else on this board said to get the silicone bracelets with the pertinent info on it so that's what we did. We ordered them in green.

 

[Precious1971]

Where did you order the silicone bracelets from?