How do you mark your kids?

[LovingDisney2012]

We use ID on me and love it. As a matter of fact my daughter dropped her ID bracelet (she told me later that she had been trying to put it on her other wrist and dropped it, she had just turned 2). We turned around to go find it, and got a phone call almost immediately from the CM that found it. She said that she loved how bright it was because, there was no need to look for it, it just stood out on the ground (inside a store in World Showcase).

 

[DVCJones]

Similar to the doggy tags that you can get at pet stores and Walmart... We got the Disney themed tags they sell in the vending machines that are usually located in the arcades at WDW. We got ours at the arcade at Space Mountain. My girls got Tinkerbell heart shaped necklaces that they really enjoy wearing. My DH and I put our cell#'s on them.

We have had them for years.

 

[jasy]

Ever since my son (3) was lost on our last trip we do the following, idea came from my dad who was travelling with my nephew who of the 2 little boys we thought FOR SURE would be the one to get lost, but alas it was my son...

Anyway I use the luggage tag that comes with our vacation package and put my business card in it which has my cellphone number on it. I then taught my child that if they got lost (again) to find a safe stranger (which we've already talked about how to identify) and tell them.

"My name is O I can't find my mom, J. Her phone number is 999"

Post getting lost, we actually tested it out with a couple of CM's just to get my son comfortable with the idea. It worked great. Though getting lost last time scared him bad enough that I don't think he'll do it again.

 

[CaptainEIEIO]

Saw this twice now in this thread so had to respond. I'm a CM and I have never been trained to look at the back of a button for information. We are actually trained to try and have as little physical contact with the child as possible and to either get the child to hand us or tell us the information (or show the tattoo back of button etc) but we are instructed never to "search" for info. Imagine what someone could do and then cover it up by saying I was searching for parent contact info.

The best methods I have ever come across dealing with lost children at Disney was children who knew exactly who was safe to come to (any CM with a name tag on that has the castle and Walt Disney World on it guest bough ones don't have that on it.) and children who were given a card either in a lanyard or in their pocket that says hi my name is _____ my adult is -------I need help. My adult can be reached at -----. Also putting hotel information is also good so that if it is too long with out the adult we can call the hotel and alert them as well. You wouldn't imagine how many midget left at a park because eom assumes they were with dad and dad assumes they were with mom,

Okay so you are trained not to touch them, but you do know that putting info on the back of the buttons is the what a lot of parents do and would possibly ask the child if the info was on the back of the button and to show it to you. Its all in the wording I guess.

 

[wilkeliza]

Okay so you are trained not to touch them, but you do know that putting info on the back of the buttons is the what a lot of parents do and would possibly ask the child if the info was on the back of the button and to show it to you. Its all in the wording I guess.

I'll be honest until I saw it here I ha no clue parents out info on the back of the buttons. I simply ask most sobbing kids if they have their information but I haven't been trained for anything in specific. Remember most CMs don't come on the dis or any Disney related message board that's why I caution away from assuming CMs know to ask to see the back of it. Now a few CMs in a few areas may have been trained to ask that but to my knowledge it isn't apart of our standard safety training.

Now going back on the physical contact if a child grabs our Han or initiates the hug that's ok. Also if it is a tiny one sometimes people will break the rule because it is easier to hold the child than it is to chase after them again.

I just would hate for someone's child be lost and then not get contacted in an appropriate way because they read on the dis that that's the way CMs are trained when it isn't.

 

[bbeagle]

I just would hate for someone's child be lost and then not get contacted in an appropriate way because they read on the dis that that's the way CMs are trained when it isn't.

I would hate for someone's child to be lost, and someone is 'scared' to touch the child to look behind a button attached to their shirt.

Geez! If my kid is lost, I think the reasonable thing to do is look for identifying information. Ask the child first, but if the child is too young, look for things like stickers, buttons, and I would have no problem at all if someone removed a button to get contact information. Removing shirts/pants is a different thing altogether, and should not be done. But, seriously, things attached to a young child's clothing? Get real! If your first suspicion is that someone is a child molester instead of someone trying to help, then YOU are the one who has lost touch with society. 99% of the people out there would do things to help a small child, not harm. Especially being a CM at Disney.

 

[Butterfly123]

A cheap method is just to write the parents cell number on some scotch tape with a sharpie and put the piece of tape on outside of the child's clothing. Very simple!

 

[Dot2Vegas]

I'll be honest until I saw it here I ha no clue parents out info on the back of the buttons. I simply ask most sobbing kids if they have their information but I haven't been trained for anything in specific. Remember most CMs don't come on the dis or any Disney related message board that's why I caution away from assuming CMs know to ask to see the back of it. Now a few CMs in a few areas may have been trained to ask that but to my knowledge it isn't apart of our standard safety training.

Now going back on the physical contact if a child grabs our Han or initiates the hug that's ok. Also if it is a tiny one sometimes people will break the rule because it is easier to hold the child than it is to chase after them again.

I just would hate for someone's child be lost and then not get contacted in an appropriate way because they read on the dis that that's the way CMs are trained when it isn't.

I agree! I would not hold a lot of stock in hearing something on a message board. Not that people are always lying, but someone gets wrong information and they believe its right ect...
I also agree with CMs having as little physical contact as possible with a child. Again, not saying the CMs are bad people but you have to be careful. As a parent I teach my kids that strangers do not touch them (unless you are injured and a paramedic or police officer are helping you). I am relatively certain that if a CM tried to reach for my child to look at a button on their clothes, even if CM is a good guy, my girls would kick and scream and run away. Now, they would have the sense to approach a properly identified CM and give them our info (if old enough to remember) or to hand the CM their info (when they were little it was pinned into their shirts). I think Disney would be opening themselves up to a lot of potential problems by allowing CM to search kids for their info. Just my two cents!

 

[Astylla]

Maybe I am out of my league as I don't have kids but I do think it's important to go over with your own child what THEY should do. I got lost at Disney World as a child and was told what to look for/who.

Now obviously that is just one part of it and will vary greatly on age/individual. You have to understand nowadays there are so many policies in place to protect the customer and the employee that something okay to you, may simply not be tolerated by another or not allowed by one not specifically trained like a lead or manager, etc.

Something helpful could be to do is to go over this before hand several times and practice at home. I feel it's really unfair to get upset at hypothetical situations or at employees for not doing what you think they should . There are rules in place for a reason but if you have a backup plan abd educate all involved everything should be okay.

 

[starshine514]

I've never labeled my kids at all, but I only have two, so I have a hand for each of them. On Tuesday, I saw a little girl about 2 with a name tag sticky label stuck to the back of her shirt. It instructed people to call her mom's cell phone. That seemed like a simple solution.

 

[bbeagle]

Someday, every visitor at Disney will be wearing a wristband with a computer chip on it. It will be very easy to add the child's name and parent's contact information to it so a CM can simply scan it and find out how to help the child.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

I only lost my daughter once. 28 years ago I wanted to go furniture shopping so I took our regular baby sitter with me to the mall (1 our from our city). I wanted to really take my time to look. I happened to notice Suzie, the baby sitter is next to me -- I tilt my head to the side and say Sus were is Krista. She said oh, my I don't know. Panic sits In I run to an employee and shout lock down the mall there is a missing child. Yeah right-- that didn't happen-- nor did locking the doors to the furniture dept--the employees were of no help at all. My life was over -- my child was missing---I was frantic-- I saw out of the corner of my eye a pillow move on one of the sofas' well it was not a pillow it was Krista. She has been watching everything from said sofa the whole time. Now I was so happy I wanted to &ill her but I hugged her and told her next time answer if I call you. Poor baby sitter didn't need words I know she was as scared as me.

I want to let you all know -- miss placed kids happen. Best to do is introduce your children to a plaid and ask how Disney handles lost parents--- Kids are never lost -- but parents go missing all the time. Hearing first hand from Disney trumps what ever else I read or hear.

So far I have a grown daughter. Grand kids are getting to the age I only worry about them 23.9999998 hours a day. It never ends -- trust me get a good plan in tack. I even thought I lost the dog today-- nope he we playing with the rabbit that made a home at my daughters-- oh heck widget is not even my dog it is theirs-- she just likes to sleep on my porch and have me feed her here to

Ok carry on with the thread

 

[seagodess]

We put ds's name and our phone numbers on a dog tag and he wears it around his neck.

 

[Aussie Princess]

I ordered my son slap bands with his name and my number as my DS is not quite 2 on this trip and doesn't have the language skills to say his name and that he's list but that's what my pram and his mickey backpack with handle is for so he can't run off

 

[grumpy's fan]

When my DD was young I would print a label that had her first name, my first name and cell number and print it on an address sized label. I would put it on the inside of the back of her shirt and told her that if she couldn't find me that she should look for the Disney employee with the Special Name Badge and tell them her mommy is lost.

Once in the park, I would show her several examples of CM's with the Disney name badge so that she would know what to look for.

I would print out enough labels for 2 per day for the length of our trip.

 

[sage210]

I know most of this is how to mark the kids, but a thought from the other direction: Each morning I take a photo of the kid with my cell.

That way if anything should happen I've got a recent photo to show to people who can help look. I know if she goes missing I won't be in the right mind to remember whether she was wearing the red shirt or green that day. A picture is worth a thousand words.

(My kid has an active imagination, so if I mention that it's in case she gets lost she'll thinks it's guaranteed, and won't leave my side all day. So I tell her it's just part of vacation photos and she love it...a photo shoot starring her!)

 

[Mousequake]

I know most of this is how to mark the kids, but a thought from the other direction: Each morning I take a photo of the kid with my cell.

That way if anything should happen I've got a recent photo to show to people who can help look. I know if she goes missing I won't be in the right mind to remember whether she was wearing the red shirt or green that day. A picture is worth a thousand words.

(My kid has an active imagination, so if I mention that it's in case she gets lost she'll thinks it's guaranteed, and won't leave my side all day. So I tell her it's just part of vacation photos and she love it...a photo shoot starring her!)

This is a GREAT tip, and one I've done myself on all of our trips. It's become our daily tradition at DL-- step out of the hotel, pose for a picture.

 

[Malcon10t]

We get one of the big buttons from City Hall (or CM's in shops have them too). I take a Sharpie and write our names and my cell # on the back. The CM's are actually trained to check a button for info.

I like this idea. We usually put our numbers on the upper arms. Even my older niece, who is 12 and travels every year with us, grabbed the sharpie to have my daughter put our numbers on her arm.

 

[Nox54]

I'll be honest until I saw it here I ha no clue parents out info on the back of the buttons. I simply ask most sobbing kids if they have their information but I haven't been trained for anything in specific. Remember most CMs don't come on the dis or any Disney related message board that's why I caution away from assuming CMs know to ask to see the back of it. Now a few CMs in a few areas may have been trained to ask that but to my knowledge it isn't apart of our standard safety training.

Now going back on the physical contact if a child grabs our Han or initiates the hug that's ok. Also if it is a tiny one sometimes people will break the rule because it is easier to hold the child than it is to chase after them again.

I just would hate for someone's child be lost and then not get contacted in an appropriate way because they read on the dis that that's the way CMs are trained when it isn't.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[wilkeliza]

I would hate for someone's child to be lost, and someone is 'scared' to touch the child to look behind a button attached to their shirt. Geez! If my kid is lost, I think the reasonable thing to do is look for identifying information. Ask the child first, but if the child is too young, look for things like stickers, buttons, and I would have no problem at all if someone removed a button to get contact information. Removing shirts/pants is a different thing altogether, and should not be done. But, seriously, things attached to a young child's clothing? Get real! If your first suspicion is that someone is a child molester instead of someone trying to help, then YOU are the one who has lost touch with society. 99% of the people out there would do things to help a small child, not harm. Especially being a CM at Disney.

I'm not scared to touch a child but in this sue happy world it is what large organizations train people to do so that they don't get sued. I'm not the one who made the training manual I just follow what I'm taught from it. I have not lost touch with society but rather follow the procedures set forth by one of my employees. They say don't touch unless the child starts the interaction then that is the rule and that's how I follow it. You want to talk about crazy rules I can tell you a bung of them. CMs are no longer allowed to put Mickey stickers directly on a child with out parent permission first. It seems that not only is it an inappropriate touch issue but also parents were claiming we were ruining expensive clothes. Same for buttons. I use to do birthday celebrations as a CM at a Disney Store and we were told to stop pinning buttons directly to the kids because some parents said it ruined their clothes! We had to hand them the button and let the parents decide. Now I'm just a park CM but there are a lot of rules in place to protect Disney from any sort of lawsuit.

Now I see why a lot of CMs keep their mouth shut on here. We try to help people out by letting them know what we are actually trained or told and then people tell us we are wrong or crazy.