Is this overkill? Bracelets for kids with our cell phone numbers

[sodashopsunshine]

maybe see if you can find one with a disney theme on it, or use sharpie to mickey it up. I am 25 and would wear one if it was glow in the dark, even though I go by myself. Maybe if everyone in the group wears one, it might trick them into wearing it.

I also agree that the key is to teach them to show the bracelet/dog tag/sharpied arm to a cast member in case they are lost.

I don't think you can ever be too safe, even if they kids hate it they will be thankful if they get lost, hopefully you'll never have to deal with that situation though!

 

[DisneyMom81]

I think if it makes you feel better, then do it.

 

[tam626]

Last year when we went, I took a great tip off of this board & got one of the little tags from the machines they have at petsmart. I hook it on his beltloop or shoe. It has his name & our cell numbers on.

 

[A&E'sMom]

We used them. Last year we also took my 11yo cousin. She wore it without question. (We also didn't give her a choice - it was just a "matter of fact", "here, wear this".) It was just a rubber glow-in-the-dark bracelet with our cell number. I think it gave her a sense of safety too.

We've since used them at waterparks and even made my boys wear them on a field trip with their school. (The teacher liked the idea and has purchased neon tyvek bracelets to print out the school name and her cell when there are field trips. No one has ever had to use it, but it's just peace of mind.)

I think that it should not be a problem for an 11 year old to wear one either. It's not just a question of whether or not they would be able to remember a phone number, but rather if they were hurt and unable to talk. Since your info stated "If I am lost or hurt", then I think it's a good idea for your oldest to wear one as well.

 

[CLR4321]

My kids (now ten and eleven) have known our cell phone numbers for years.

Prior to that we'd write on their arm with a Sharpie. We tried dogtags on the shoes, and lost one of them the first day. The second one ended up on the pair of shoes they wore day one, and we forgot to move them. Sharpie doesn't get lost and the pen is in the backpack.

While Sharpie pens are non-toxic, they are not recommended per Sharpie to use on skin or fingernails, as the ink can enter the blood stream. Here is info...scroll down to Safety/Removal from Skin here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpie_(marker) Read the parts in bold text.

 

[maddiesmom0116]

I bought one of these for my DD5 even though she knows my cell number I still worry. I used it for the first time Friday when she went on her first field trip for Kindergarten. It made me feel a little better she had it on. The funny thing is the field trip was to Safety Village and it is operated by our local police, so she really couldn't have been much safer anyway.

I am an extremely attentive parent and I never thought I would need one of these but now that she is away from me more I am glad I bought it. It is better to be extra safe.

 

[redlawyer]

I also use the pet id tags from petsmart. I put my cell phone on and each dd 8,6 and 2 gets to wear their necklace in the parks. If they want, they can wear it under their shirts. Even the 8 yr old will get extremely upset if her parents get lost and could easily forget the numbers.

 

[momof1princess]

i don't think you're being overprotective at all and it's a great idea for all 3 kids! they could panic if they get separated from you and not be able to recall your cell phone number. i bought dog tags (real army dog tags) for DD several years ago, and she wears them whenever we go on vacation or if she goes on a school field trip.

 

[TheRatPack]

All my kids use/wear one. My oldest are 15 and 14....but then we get them in Lime green and they are true DIS fans too LOL They definitely remember the cell numbers...and of course my oldest has his own cell.....but what if they passed out on a ride? What if they fell in a bathroom and hit their head...etc? I'm always thinking of 'what if's' LOL but they don't fuss about wearing them so it's just extra safety for me. The youngest we put the bracelets on their ankle, so they won't be putting them on and taking them off all day.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

So, do all of you planning for a knock on the head, or unconciousness plan on leaving your kids alone in the park? When mine were preteens they were pretty much with us the whole time. Had they been separated for a few minutes they were smart enough to hang tight if they didn't have a phone, or give a call if they did.

For young kids, they look ok, but I'm of the sharpie them group. Bracelets come off, and the tattoos are a scam.

 

[onajourney]

If you don't mind me asking... where did you order yours from? When we go next my kids will be 4 & 6 and I would love to order some.

Thanks for the input. My 11yo son said he'd wear it, no big deal, so I guess I was worried for nothing. I got "orange" for the color and my 11yo was fine with that too. It wasn't too girly or too boyish. I ordered them from www.shanrene.com and they were under $3.00 each.

 

[babybaja2]

Hope for the best... but plan for the worst...

While disney is wonderful, the reality is that accidents do happen, and there are bad people out there. I'd say whatever the age, ID the child (adults don't go out without ID's). And ID them like a car, put the number in more than one place. Mine get their pic taken each morning in that days outfit, (plus we are wearing matching shirts!) ID's inside neck of tshirt, shoe, etc.. wherever you want, but more than one place. And remember to add any allergies to those ID's! They also have a small (but very loud) whistle on a chain around their necks. Also, worst case, if they are hurt in a wreak, chances are, so are you. Add a emergency # for next of kin back home.

When we have my DSis children with ours, (four total) we assign "battle buddies" (DH is military) each child is responsible for watching out for his/her buddy, (with the adults as backup) although it does not work when we only have our two - I think DD would intentionlly lose DS if given the chance!

 

[disneycruising]

When my kids where younger, I would put a "family" business cards in their pockets. It had my name, home number and cell number. You can get the cards made up really cheap on line.

I also had my kids carry a whistle to blow if we got seperated! This does work...my DD got seperated from us while going thru a crowded turnstile at DL. With in seconds she was blowing her whistle as loud as she could.

Every morning as we left our hotel room, we would go over what do you do if you get lost... 1) stop and blow your whistle if that doesn't work 2) look for a cast member or a mom with kids, tell them you are lost and give them your card.

Now that my kids are older every one has cellphone they carry.

 

[kpgriswold]

Each morning, I wrote my cell phone number on the bottom of my kids' sneakers with a sharpie, and told them to show their shoe to a CM if they got lost. Worked great!

 

[redrosesix]

True, the 11yo wouldn't need it. I will leave that up to him if he wants to wear one. The 5yo would lose the paper. She is just that way. She also has a bit of a speech delay so I am afraid she would be hard to understand. My 9yo panics under pressure. This summer I was dropping her and a friend off at the pool and I told her to call my cell phone when they wanted to go home and she freaked out because she couldn't remember the order of the last four numbers. She had all the numbers, just had them mixed up. If I had casually asked her at home she would have rattled it off no prob. I guess I'd feel better with the 5yo having it and will leave it up to the older 2 to decide if they want them or not. They love those rubber bracelets so maybe they won't think of them as too dorky since lots of kids wear the rubber bracelets anyway.

You have to know your own kids IMO. My 9 yo would never forget my cell phone number -- it's the only 1 I've ever had and I got it when she was 2. It's also my primary phone number for both work and home, and since it's a blackberry she can also give them her email address to contact me. We actually give her a cell phone of her own to use in the parks, although she doesn't yet have one at home.

She also has a lot of experience traveling and going to crowded places, so I know she'd stay put if we ever became separated. I find WDW easier than many of the places we have gone together, but I don't think that it's enough to train them for WDW -- that starts months in advance, at home, at every outing you go on.

Actually, it's her dad we worry about the most -- he got them both lost on our last trip and DD called me to come and get them.

My kids (13 and 7) wore them this year and last. My 13 yo has her own cell but I didn't let her take it to the parks with her. She didn't mind wearing the bracelet and it actually came in handy when she and her uncle went to the wrong place to catch up with our group and had to call to find us. I also think it's good to have the numbers on them because if something really bad happened and the child was unconscious he/she wouldn't be able to tell anyone their parents' numbers.

I'm curious as to why you wouldn't let the 13 yo take her cell phone. IMO, that could be very useful for her to have if you got separated.

 

[Dramamama]

Also, petsmart has engravible ID tags for about $4. You could attach them to their shoes.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We just bought a Medical ID bracelet for our 4 yr old. I cannot imagine us losing him in the park --but, to buy piece of mind.... we will put our cell phone numbers on it and teach him to show it to a cast member and wait for mommy and daddy. He would not be able to remember our phone numbers himself. It also has allergy information. Here's where we bought it.
http://child-identification-bracelets.com/

 

[TheRatPack]

So, do all of you planning for a knock on the head, or unconciousness plan on leaving your kids alone in the park? When mine were preteens they were pretty much with us the whole time. Had they been separated for a few minutes they were smart enough to hang tight if they didn't have a phone, or give a call if they did.

For young kids, they look ok, but I'm of the sharpie them group. Bracelets come off, and the tattoos are a scam.

Yep, I actually plan on letting my 5 year old do a park day alone....heck why not

Sorry, couldn't resist. But to answer your question in a serious way.....no my children go to the same parks, the same restaurants...etc with their father and me every day. The only thing is that sometimes they go on rides that we don't. What if they passed out on a ride? We're sitting at the nearest 'rest area' outside the ride watching for them to come out and all the while they were taken out an emergency exit to the hospital? What if they slip in the bathroom....while I normally do stand right outside the door I don't actually go in the bathroom with my 15 year old.....and while I would probably see if emergency medical was called to a bathroom that my child was in...the bracelet is just extra protection.

We put the bracelets on the ankles of our little ones, you can't take them off without removing their shoes, which they don't do. Our oldest 2 don't take them off....they are just those rubber bracelets that everyone wears anyway...so not like it's a giant embarrassing flashing emergency bracelet saying 'look, my mom thinks I'm a baby' LOL

 

[crisi]

While Sharpie pens are non-toxic, they are not recommended per Sharpie to use on skin or fingernails, as the ink can enter the blood stream. Here is info...scroll down to Safety/Removal from Skin here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpie_(marker) Read the parts in bold text.

Sure, but you'd have to color yourself in Sharpie to get any ill effects. I'm more concerned about the pesticides in my kid's diets (we tend to eat organic) than Sharpies - so my kids get a lower dose of toxins than most kids on a daily basis - at Disney for two years they got a little higher dose. Probably still didn't even them out to what most kids are exposed to.

 

[Grandmom3]

I think the rubber bracelets for the younger children are a great idea. Plus in the waterparks the bracelets can't be ruined by running ink or partly wash away like the temporary ID tats. Thanks for another good tip.