Ideas for NOT losing you children @ parks

[forgetyourtroubles!]

We are trying to think of something we can do to minimize the possibility of losing our kids at the parks. They are 7, 10, and 2.
Our 7 yr old always seems to get separated (you know...he was following the BLUE swimsuit and then he realized it was the wrong blue suit, not his dad's) and then goes into a complete panic.
Here's what I've thought of so far...name badges with our cell #'s on the back. I'm trying to think where I might buy a good name badge. Playing "find a castmember" for the first few minutes of entry into every park...
If anyone has any more thoughts on this, I would appreciate it! I also need ideas for the waterparks. We probably can't wear a badge on a swimsuit. However, Grandma most likely will be there staying dry and will have a phone. Laminate a card? Buy a wristband of some sort?

 

[ksaybolt99]

We just got back. I put sticker labels on the inside of the backs of my kid's shirts with our name, the resort we were staying in and our cell phone numbers(*which we carried with us*) It would be a good idea to tell them to seek out a castmember with a badge if they get lost. I have two kids ages 7 and 4 - and in Disney, it's easy to get separated. My 4YO got disoriented during the Dream Come True parade because she went out in the street while the parade stopped for a moment. Well, a lot of other kids were out there too, as well as characters, and it got crazy.

Having my kids in the stroller while we walked from attraction to attraction helped too.

Have fun!

 

[Baloo]

I think the find the CM game sounds great!
On every trip, even now that Erich is older, I have him and now Jonathan tell me what they are suppose to do if we get seperated....find a CM!!! It might be a good idea if the kids could tell you what resort you're staying at too.Hard for the 2 yr old,I know but maybe you could make it simple so he/she could understand.Like the Swan...the hotel with the big bird!

 

[crisi]

We leash the toddlers.

We also play "find the castmember" Our kids (who were 2 and 3) knew to find "Mickey's Friends" if they couldn't find Mom or Dad.

Thankfully, we didn't need this.

Your seven year old sounds like he is easily distracted. I know well, I'm the same way - at 37 I can still glance up, have my eye caught by something, and loose my husband completely in the crowds. He might want to hold hands - especially in crowds. And you may want to find the ugliest matching tied dyed or very bright tshirts you can find for the whole family. If everyone is wearing bright pink with your family name written across the back, it will be easier for your seven year old to find you when he returns to Earth.

For older kids (seven is probably still too young) having a meeting place that everyone goes it if you get seperated can be a good idea. Someplace easy to find, but not so spacious that you can't find anyone around it - like the Liberty tree, but not the castle. This works especially well for kids that are really familiar with the parks - i.e. our DisBoards kids who have practically grown up there - but won't work so well for first timers.

 

[wahoo776]

Hi!

Here is my suggestion to your problem and It just so happens I have children the almost exact same ages.

I make shirts for all of us in the exact same color, our first year they were blue, this year they were yellow. I bought the Disney Print Creations Software and used the same pictures on all of them, added writting that said "The Aaron Family Vacation and April 2003." It was very easy for adults and children alike to find our group. We didn't dread the great well you go see what the line is like here and we will find you, because on more than one occasion, we were looking for our group and another guest would say, "Hey I just saw a member of your group up that way."

We also got lots of compliments on them, we even had a woman describe them to a blindman on resort transportation on our way to the parks on day (the ultimate compliment in my mind!)

I(Oh, I hate to tell people this, but...) had a situation occur when me and my 3 yo where in Mickeys Toontown Playground, he had wandered out of the playground, looking for me, who was sitting 2 feet from where he had to walk past. I looked up and he was gone and totally panicked and forgot we had on matching clothes. I grabbed a castmember, almost in tears, I had warned my husband of this all day and here it was me! And here comes a young couple walking up with my son, saying we had seen your shirts earlier and knew he belonged to you. I started hugging them, I offered to buy them dinner everything, they were wonderful and kept turning me down. The husband turned and said I thought those shirts were kind of silly when I first saw them, but when we bring our kids we will definetly have them. The castmember assured me she would 'take care' of this couple. I certainly hope she did!

So the shirts REALLY worked for us.

If you can, I would suggest the same thing for your bathing suits all one color. It could be hard and will depend on your budget, but it is well worth it.

Good Luck!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

One ID idea that seems to work well is dog tags. Go to any department store or pet store where they have the self service machines that create dog tags for your pets. Put all the information that your child might need if he or she is lost (cell phone, resort etc) on the tag. Lace the tag onto the their shoe lace. Even the two year old can be taught to show a CM their shoe if they get lost. Most boys swim suits have a string that could also be used for this tag. I would teach your older two kids your cell# by heart also.
A few ideas more on not loosing them in the first place:
Make sure you and any other adults know who is watching the kids at all times. if one of you takes your eyes off them, tell the others to watch. Make any trade off verbal,"I am giving you DS to watch while I go to get drinks". Thats how most kids get lost. As for the DS7, I would consider renting a stroller if it is very crowded and you see he is not staying with you well. He has to hold someones hand or ride in the stroller. I also love
the shirt idea. The brighter the better. Floresent Green is good!
Try not to worry too much WDW is used to wondering kids and looks out for them..


Jordan's mom

 

[travelitis]

When we're in big crowds, we use containment. Our kids are 11, 9, and 4 (soon to be 5). We rent a double stroller, and we'll have our 9 y.o. (small - wears 6/7) jump in so the only one we have to keep track of is the 11 y.o. We feel that even 8/9 yr. olds (just turned 9 last week) can use the break once in awhile. It gives him or his brother a place to sit during a wait in a line, and the other can sit on my lap, as I'm in an ECV. Keeping up with my 6 ft. dh is hard on little legs. BTW, my 4 yo is an escape artist, and the stroller containment (not belted) works great with her.

 

[Gette88]

I heard about the dog tags recently from a friend and think it's a great idea. That's what I plan on doing for our next trip. I'm going to get them for my nieces and nephews too. It's their 1st trip and I think it's a great idea. Last time we went I used a wrist leash. It worked but it did bother my DD's arm.

 

[MomE@Home]

I Don't think it's a good idea to have a child's first name in plain view-be it a badge or written on their shirt. Should they be seperated from you, any stranger would be able to call them by name and possibly lure them away. The dog tags sound good if they just have your cell phone # on them or the idea of tape with your cell# and resort info.

 

[TDS373X]

THis will be our 2nd trip using the dog tags. They are between 6 and 8 dollars at Petsmart depending on the style you choose. I was able to find a Goofy necklace for about a buck at a Disney Outlet Store and after the novelty of the necklace had worn off it occurred to me to use it as her special necklace that she was only to wear at Disney and put the dog tag on it. She loved it and still referred to it as her special necklace even after we got home. I kept it simple name, cell number and in our case noted that she is epileptic that way we don't have to keep buying new tags everytime we go...

We'll be there soon!!!

 

[pezheadval]

The dog tag idea is really a great one. I was considering getting the ID Inside bracelet for my daughter, but may do the dog tag thing. Great Ideas!!

Here is the website for ID Inside http://id-inside.com/
Has anyone used them? Did you dd/ds keep it on?

 

[debster812]

The dog tags are a great idea. Here is what my son's day care does when they go on field trips. They have wristbands printed up (wristbands like you would get while waiting on line for concert tix). On the wristband they print:

The name of the Center
The name of the Director in charge of that trip
Her cell phone number
The phone number of the Center

We adapted this to WDW by putting our cellphone, and the resort and room # we were in. That way if DS got so freaked he forgot our last name, etc, WDW could track us down by our room number.

I know these threads are a little scary, but oh so helpful!

PS--I also recall reading somewhere that some folks have put the dog tags on their children's shoelaces, so that they are out of the way.

 

[BevS97]

I am a big believer of leashes for younger kids. My dd hates it on her wrist, so we put it on a belt or bum bag around a waist.

We also use the GOH name badges from WDW, and put a sticker on the back with hotel info on it. My thought is that it's not hard to overhear a kids name, you just have to stand near them in a line for a few minutes and chances are it will be said more than once, so i don't think the name badge is a big risk - plus the kids get such extra special treatment from all the CM's when they are wearing them, that it makes for a really lovely experience

Bev

 

[forgetyourtroubles!]

Thanks for all the ideas. I got the dog tags yesterday (just a small round circle tag) with both cell numbers on it. I think I'll go to the Disney store tonight to get a special necklace and we should be set.
The names are pretty small, so if someone is standing near, they could read it but if they are a few feet away, they won't be able to see the child's name. Of course, I don't plan on EVER letting them out of my sight...I just need that extra something so DH will not be in constant stressed-out mode. For some reason, once we had a 3rd child, it seemed too much to manage. We'll keep her, though. 4 adults and 3 tagged children...we should be okay, I think!

 

[justcruisin]

I put a dog tag with DS3 name, my cell and DH cell. I actually write (with a sharpie marker) the same info on a few places ON HIS BODY. I also make sure we all know what he is wearing.

We do this each from when we leave home, until we get home.

You can make the dog tags yourself at petsmart stores ... just a few dollars.

Safe travels to everyone!

 

[BrerMom]

Originally posted by forgetyourtroubles!
We are trying to think of something we can do to minimize the possibility of losing our kids at the parks. They are 7, 10, and 2.
Our 7 yr old always seems to get separated (you know...he was following the BLUE swimsuit and then he realized it was the wrong blue suit, not his dad's) and then goes into a complete panic.

Our kids were almost the same ages as yours when we were in WDW. I took a harness for the littlest one, but he was content to stay in the stroller most of the time. We quizzed the older two with basic info that they should know anyway: dad's name, mom's name, where were we staying, etc. By far the most comforting thing for them was their radios, though. We had an advantage that we already had the radios and the kids knew how to use them from skiing. All four of us kept a radio in our fannypacks. The strategy was that we only turned them on if we were separated (I took the little one to Fantasyland, for example) or if somebody was lost. The second you realize you'd been separated or the group realized they'd lost somebody, on the radios would go. It was a WONDERFUL "security blanket" for them - and me, since I tend to get distracted or wander more than the kids ever would.

Oh, we would check the radios at the beginning of every day to make sure that we were all on the same channel and that everybody's batteries were still strong.

 

[3darlingirls]

This is always a big fear! But I reassure myself that with all the kids there, Disney has the lost child reunion down pat!! With my 3 DDs, I tell them ahead of time that if they get lost to remember that we will NEVER leave the park without them (or the store/wherever we are). We did the find a cast member, too. Our family policy (outside of WDW) is to find a mom with kids and explain you are lost. (I was told by the police that this is a a safe bet in general. In general kids can't distinguish police from security, and (outside of WDW) there are terrible people who dress up like security for terrible reasons...I don't like to think about it. But a mom with children is most likely to stop what she is doing and help a child...I hope so!) Before going to WDW I printed address lables with "LOST CHILD: Parents (our names) and our orlando info, our hometown, and our cell phone.", then I put it on the outside, under their arm pits. No one could see it, it didn't bother them, but they knew to show this to an adult if lost. In very crowded situations we have rules that must be followed if they want to go on vacation...so for things like the parade, the youngest had to stay in the stroller, and the two older ones had to hold an adults hand. No exceptions. But for the most part, I try not to scare them, because in the end its my responsibility not theirs. I saw the matching family t shirts, and I think they would work GREAT. That's what we'll be doing the next time.

 

[pezheadval]

Originally posted by 3darlingirls
Our family policy (outside of WDW) is to find a mom with kids and explain you are lost. (I was told by the police that this is a a safe bet in general. In general kids can't distinguish police from security, and (outside of WDW) there are terrible people who dress up like security for terrible reasons...I don't like to think about it. But a mom with children is most likely to stop what she is doing and help a child...I hope so!)

What a great idea! I'm so glad you said that...I will be sure to keep that in mind when teaching my daughter what to do if she gets lost! Thanks!

 

[Boo Mc]

We were going to get the dog tags but I was having a hard time finding some. I ended up getting a three pack of small key rings at Walmart (by the key machine). I think they were $2.50 for 3. They have a tag you slide out to write on which is covered in plastic when you slide it back in. We just put "If lost please contact: cell phone number". Our kids wear these on their tennis shoes. We also put another relatives number on it in case something happens to our cell phone. We've taught them to find a CM and show them their shoe if they get lost. We've also taught them to stand perfectly still and scream our name as loud as possible if they get lost. I heard John Walsh say one time that he never taught his son to scream and it haunted me. Our kids know they don't have to worry about their "indoor voices" if they're lost (or as they like to say - if mommy and daddy are lost ).

 

[tojth]

Watch out for the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground at MGM. When my daughter was 4, with 3 adults watching her, she got lost in there. We searched for 30 minutes and I was sure she had been abducted, when a CM found her in some sort of climbing attraction with a network of ropes. She was too small to complete the course, and got stuck. Needless to say, I was in meltdown, but she didn't even know she was lost.

If you do get separated, I'd say notify a CM immediately. They were great to help us.

- Jackie