Labeling your kids

[skywaywaver]

Before kids, I too thought leashes were a bit much. I did buy a monkey backpack one to use on my oldest when we were at WDW when she was 18 months...she was in the stroller most of the time so no big deal. Even with kid #2, no need for a leash. Kid #3 (3 years old) is, as oldest puts it, "sassy". She is not great about holding hands and I can see her pulling away and running into a crowd. I wish I could put the harness on her but I think she's smart enough to know how to unclip it. I'm probably underestimating her willingness to be pushed around in the stroller (we don't use it much at home) like the princess that she thinks she is. I'll probably put number on inside of magic band but may also put it on skin under band, even for my 10 year old. She knows cell number but I know she would fall apart if she got separated from us (I can't one aisle over in a store without her freaking out).

Will the CM look on inside of Magic Band? Or is that not something they would do and/or they wouldn't have a phone to be able to call with?

 

[Melwhit16]

Don't worry OP I get it. My niece is 5 and she is a darter. No matter how close you watch her, she manages to wander out of sight. We will be using something to get our info on her in November!

What about the Magic Bands. Are the CMs able to scan them and use the info to contact you?

 

[cdnjason]

Does not work so great when they are 8 yrs old and up..especially in very large crowd.

Admittedly, I don't have this problem. Yet.

This becomes difficult when you are outnumbered.

No doubt. Thankfully, we aren't outnumbered.

 

[BlueLion]

OP here, wow - thanks for lots of helpful comments, appreciate the input and suggestions on what has worked. It's not the most complicated part of the trip to figure out, but nice to get lots of easy ideas for my game plan.

Obviously holding hands and paying attention should be a given for parents. They are for me. It seems like a no-brainer to have some sort of identification/contact info for a worst-case scenario, though. Why not? Especially for one who can barely talk.

As for leashes... I was always one who laughed at them as well, and never even remotely considered it for my older son when we took him to WDW at age 4. Then my little guy came along. He's adventurous and fast, so we have a little harness backpack, just in case. Really hoping that the stroller and hand-holding suffice and the leash never sees the light of day, but if it proves to be needed and useful (and not tripping or interfering with other guests), I'll risk the scorn and judgment of others and use it. It's okay if you all laugh and tsk at me, at least I'll have my kid. <--- kid on leash

 

[2binak]

When DD was too young to know our cell phone #'s, I bought some silicone bracelets online that I had engraved with our cellphone #'s. She wore them to Disney and to large, crowded places close to home too like the zoo, museums & fairs. I put them on her ankles so they wouldn't fall off or get taken off easily.

 

[BlueLion]

Re: Magic Bands for tracking -- I feel like I've heard mixed info on that here. Certainly, it is doable with the technology and would be super logical, but I thought I'd heard they're not really equipped for it? Not sure. Another good layer regardless.

 

[BlueLion]

Here I thought this was going to be a place where parents could be honest with us and their labels for their kids, "lazy," "ungrateful," "obnoxious" etc.

Too funny, thanks for the laugh!

 

[kayemgi]

Road ID is also really good to. They make ID Bracelets for runners. The ones I have are the stretchy plastic material that is very comfortable and waterproof.

We use Road ID too, and love it. We put it on my daughter every time we go to a crowded place (zoo, aquarium, etc.) not just Disney. It's held up well over the past year, and I love that I can just swap out for a bigger bracelet when she grows more, and not have to replace the plate.

 

[KrazeeK120]

We use Road ID too, and love it. We put it on my daughter every time we go to a crowded place (zoo, aquarium, etc.) not just Disney. It's held up well over the past year, and I love that I can just swap out for a bigger bracelet when she grows more, and not have to replace the plate.

I use Road ID myself when I run. My husband always got worried about me out running with no contact info on me in case I were to be hurt in some way. I only run in very visible, high traffic areas, but I admit I do feel more secure knowing EMTs could get a hold of him if something happens to me.

I am very much considering purchasing one of these to put on my son, who will be 18 months old when we go on our trip. I like that I can just keep the plate and get him a bigger bracelet when he needs it.

 

[Jaime4004]

I used bracelets on my kids when they were younger. One year (maybe the first) we had lanyards but they didn't want to wear them all the time. But DS3 (my wanderer) did get separated from us for all of about 1 minute (one minute of mild panic for me) and we found him standing there holding up his lanyard. So at least he knew the info was on there.

 

[kayemgi]

I use Road ID myself when I run. My husband always got worried about me out running with no contact info on me in case I were to be hurt in some way. I only run in very visible, high traffic areas, but I admit I do feel more secure knowing EMTs could get a hold of him if something happens to me.

I am very much considering purchasing one of these to put on my son, who will be 18 months old when we go on our trip. I like that I can just keep the plate and get him a bigger bracelet when he needs it.

I feel like I see enough stories about unidentified runners or hikers that it's a valid concern! It's always good to have some form of ID, even if it's as basic as your name, any known medical issues, and an ICE contact.

 

[RedWhiteandBlugold]

I am bringing my family to WDW for the first time this summer and was happy to find this thread as I am trying to figure out the same thing as the OP. I agree with those of you who are saying that there's nothing wrong with a backup plan. Just because you want some peace of mind doesn't make you a lazy parent. Before we judge others for how they choose to parent just keep in mind that you don't know the family background or personalities of the children of the families you walk by in the park. We are going to be at DW with a 7, 5, and 1.5 year old. Our 5 year old has special needs and has just recently become somewhat of a runner. He has no idea that running away puts him in danger, he thinks it's funny. I can only imagine what will happen when he sees something super fun in the park that he wants to do. We plan on always holding his hand when he's not in the stroller, but that's not a guarantee, or, like others have said, it's easy to have miscommunication and think he's with the other parent. We could tell him until we're blue in the face what to do in case he gets separated from us, but the chances of him actually remembering that are pretty slim. We plan on using a GPS tracker with him, and I'm not afraid of judgement for that. Even a typical kid might panic when lost and forget what they were told to do. There's nothing wrong with a label. Before having kids I used to be one of those people who thought that if you needed a leash for your kid maybe you just weren't ready to be a parent. I even thought this after having only 1 kid...she was very laid back and a good listener after all. Then came number 2 with special needs, and number 3 with an attitude. When I booked our DW trip my then 8 month old had no problem in a stroller. Now as we approach the start of our trip she has become an independent mover, shaker, and runner who hates being still in her stroller or holding hands, but is way to young to understand being lost or the danger of not staying with us. You bet we will be looking up some of these labeling ideas some of you have shared for her! Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[AZMermaid]

I would never rely on a tattoo, road ID, or magic band. Especially not the last.

The procedure Disney has is good. Teach your kids to find a cast member at a register. Those are the likeliest to have access to a phone to get in touch with other CMs. Have the kid stay there. Have one adult stay calm. The other can freak. Go for it. One parent should remember to show a CM a picture from that day so they know what the child is wearing. The CMs reunite kids all the time and have for decades before MBs and all that.

.

We did this. We taught our kids to find a CM and tell them they were lost. Ironically... they both got lost on our non park/ resort day. I think our guard was down because we weren't at the park and it wasn't wall to wall people. We were in the gift shop at the Grand Cal and were distracted looking around and the each wandered off and out- but individually. They are 4 and 5. But... they both found a CM and were returned. Parents of the Year right there! 6 weeks later, they still talk about how they got lost and "found the workers and then got back." I think it was somewhat empowering for them that they solved their own problem- even if it was scary. This was all in like a 3-4 minute period too, they weren't missing for hours

 

[Canooknic]

We engraved dog tags (at our local pet store - $5.99!!) with our cell numbers on and attached them to our boy's shoes.

We did this for our trips when they were 5 & again at 6 but now they're 8 and know our numbers so I'm not sure if we'll do it for our next trip

 

[henry72]

When they were under 2, they had military dog tags attached to their shoes and knew to point to it. When they were 4 and 7, we did the temporary tattoo on them. It lasted days for my son but on my daughter it was off in a day. We had a few more and every time we applied it to her, it was gone within a day. Weird.

Last time we went they were 6 and 9 so no need for tags or ids. DD (the 6 year old) had trouble remembering DH's cell number and of course she is the one that got separated from us at Epcot rope drop. But she knew what to do. She went up to security and told them she was lost. I had approached a CM and told them she was lost. Within a few minutes we were all back together.

 

[wilkeliza]

I'll give you the advice from the perspective of a ex-CM that directly dealt with lost children at least once a week. The number would be hire if I counted the "on alert" situations where I was aware and looking for a lost child but was not the one to make the call from the parents or the kid.

Write your number somewhere your child will be able to get it to the CM. CMs can not lift clothing or touch the child (unless there is a medical emergency) so it needs to be something your kid can show or can hand to the CM. Tags on shoes are great because kids just point to it. Also the phone number on the wrist is a big one that was used a lot. Kid comes up crying holding out their wrist and most CMs know what is up.

The one lost child who still sticks with me is the 10 year old boy who had very low verbal skills. He came up to us very calmly (but clearly on the edge of tears) and handed me a card and pointed at it once it was in my hands. It said "Hi my name is ------. I'm lost and may not speak. Please call my mom at XXX-XXX-XXXX." He was able to answer a few yes or no questions and kept saying mom and pizza so we figured out his mom was in Italy (we were at the Italy Agent P cart) and I walked with him to Italy while using my personal cell to call his mom. Watching his mom run from Italy out to the promenade when she saw us was a moment I'll never forget. She cried telling him he did every thing right and she was so so proud of him. They were separated maybe a total of 5 minutes and it happened very quickly. His mom said they were walking to Italy and a large crowd got between them. He did exactly as he was told as we were the closest CMs. He knew where they were going next so mom went there and he told us as best he could where that was. The whole thing has stuck with me almost 4 years later. That is why you have a back up. You just never ever know if you are going to get separated. No matter how closely you watch your kids it can happen in a crowd.

 

[BlueLion]

I'll give you the advice from the perspective of a ex-CM that directly dealt with lost children at least once a week. The number would be hire if I counted the "on alert" situations where I was aware and looking for a lost child but was not the one to make the call from the parents or the kid.

Write your number somewhere your child will be able to get it to the CM. CMs can not lift clothing or touch the child (unless there is a medical emergency) so it needs to be something your kid can show or can hand to the CM. Tags on shoes are great because kids just point to it. Also the phone number on the wrist is a big one that was used a lot. Kid comes up crying holding out their wrist and most CMs know what is up.

The one lost child who still sits with me is the 10 year old boy who had very low verbal skills. He came up to us very calmly (but clearly on the edge of tears) and handed me a card and pointed at it once it was in my hands. It said "Hi my name is ------. I'm lost and may not speak. Please call my mom at XXX-XXX-XXXX." He was able to answer a few yes or no questions and kept saying mom and pizza so we figured out his mom was in Italy (we were at the Italy Agent P cart) and I walked with him to Italy while using my personal cell to call his mom. Watching his mom run from Italy out to the promenade when she saw us was a moment I'll never forget. She cried telling him he did every thing right and she was so so proud of him. They were separated maybe a total of 5 minutes and it happened very quickly. His mom said they were walking to Italy and a large crowd got between them. He did exactly as he was told as we were the closest CMs. He knew where they were going next so mom went there and he told us as best he could where that was. The whole thing has stuck with me almost 4 years later. That is why you have a back up. You just never ever know if you are going to get separated. No matter how closely you watch your kids it can happen in a crowd.

Wow, how touching. Not a good situation, but a great ending. Thank you for your input, and especially for your help to reunite scared and worried families!

 

[TWK]

I don't have time to read this whole thread, but we always write it on his magic band, on the inside with a marker... I hope people would look there because names are always printed in there, so I hope someone would look.

I am sad for anyone judging people for doing any marking of their kids, or saying things like "just watch them" If you have more than 2 kids it isn't that easy.... not every kid is average, and some are prone to wander.... We're all just trying to do our best, and be prepared in a worst case scenario.

 

[EdmondD]

Helicoptering? At an amusement park? My DDs are 4 and 6. Not exactly ready to venture about the parks on their own.

To each his own and it's a matter of what we're comfortable with as parents. We allowed our 4yo the old-fashioned freedom to explore, round corners ahead of us, venture into stores before we got there, etc.

 

[jeepnjudy]

I used a dog tag engraved with our cell numbers. It attached to their shoes, so a non-invasive place for people to look if the needed to find the number, rather than on the body. I figured the only time they wouldn't have their shoes on was when they were swimming, and there's zero chance of ever looking away when they were in water.

We use a dog tag as well attached to the sneakers and it works great. Both boys know to tell someone our phone number is on there.