Loosing Your Kids

[Jo Jo]

I'M LEAVING FOR DW IN A WEEK AND I HAVE 3 YOUNG CHILDREN, 6,4 AND 22 MONTHS. I'M TEFFIFIED OF THEM GETTING LOST EVEN THOUGH I'LL WATHC THEM LIKE A HAWK, THINGS CAN HAPPEN AND I WANT TO BE AS PREPARED AS I CAN. I THINK THEY ARE TO YOUNG TO SAY IF YOU CAN'T FIND US GO TO A CERTAIN SPOT. I WAS THINKING OF HAVING A LAMINATED CARD ON THEM THAT HAD MY HUSBAND AND MY NAME ON IT AND THE RESORT WE WERE STAYING IN. I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WOULD LOVE ANY INSIGHT OR IDEAS.

 

[Mariposa]

First, while you should definitely be prepared, rest assured that Disney is FANTASTIC at reuniting 'lost parents' and their kids. (That's right, at WDW, it's the parents that have gotten lost.) Many parents make a card for their kids that includes cell phone numbers, resort info, etc. You could also write any cell phone numbers on a bandaid and put the bandaid on the child in a non-noticeable area (like their tummy). I would be sure to instruct the older two on your wishes as to what to do if they get lost. I know a lot of parents here tell them to approach a CM, but I find that, with all the guests that have purchased Guest of Honor Badges, it can be hard to distinguish who's a CM and who isn't.. I tell DD (who is 8) to approach a Mommy with little kids if she gets lost.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Here is the site at the mouse for less for name tags, I used these and included resort name and cell phone # for my dgd age 4. I bought the luggage tag lamination holders at Walmart (around 1.99) They came with plastic hangers as well. I took off the info re dob as I didn't want anyone to get this info. I put this on her shoe or her sholder strap to her shirt. She is usually real outgoing, but with the crowd she stayed in the buggy most of the time. She never does this at home.

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

 

[rlrx]

I made laminated name tags for each of my kids with our names, cell phone #, and resort on them to take with us. When we got there, we never used the tags because the rule was that they either had to hold our hand or the stroller or we stopped. This worked for us and we never had any scary moments.

 

[vhoffman]

We just came back from an 18-day trip to Hawaii. Our kids are 8 & 9, old enough to do some things by themselves, like go to the bathroom by themselves under certain circumstances, etc., however, not old enough for me not to worry about them.

In addition to the many suggestions posted here, I have another suggestion I just came up with on our last trip. Teach your kids to call for you by name, not Mommy/Daddy. Its amazing how many Mommys and Daddies there are! And all kids tend to sound alike! I instructed my kids to call Mike/Carol instead. It worked! We got seperated briefly form our kids while at a busy tourist attraction. They just called for us by name, which alerted us faster than hearing "Mommy/Daddy". I aslo taught them to just stay in one place and call for us, or we'd never sync up. You might even practice having them call for you by name before the trip. Of course, that really isn't a good suggestion for younger children, however, it worked for us with our kids. Good luck!

 

[DonnaDavid]

Jo Jo,

Would it do any good to tell you to relax? All of the above tips are good ones. If you must lose a kid, Disney does a wonderful job of reuniniting them.

My family (3 kids) goes to WDW and DL 2-3 times a year since my kids were babies. There have been several times where they have wandered a bit farther than I would like, but we had not only our first but our second lost kids last year. My 4 yo DD was at the water park when Dad thought she was with me and I thought she was with him. We ran outside of the store we were all in to see a WDW CM leading her by the hand to the lost kids section. They found her before we realized she was missing.

After years of drilling my kids on what to do when they get lost, my 8 yo DS got left behind at DL last year also. As soon as he realized that he had been left behind, he went to a CM just as he has been taught for years. We picked him up at lost kids, and I let him know how proud I was of him for handlilng it.

I know that your kids are younger, but do your best to prepare for their being lost and enjoy your trip.

 

[la79al]

We lost both of ours last year. One was paying more attention to the surroundings than us and stopped when we continued walking. The other one was looking at things in a giftshop and we only walked to the other side of the display (5 steps) but when we returned to her she was in tears saying she was lost. Before we got to the parks, we told them to look for someone with a tag and tell them that they were lost. The oldest was able to do this and we were very proud of him. The little one got scared and started to cry but did not move from where we left her. I do know that at the little ones daycare when they go on field trips, they put a label in the middle of the back of the kids shirts with the childs name, daycare and phone number.

 

[MagikMom]

When we first started to go to Disney my kids were 5 & 8. I rented a double stroller for both of them (my DD is tiny) so whenever we were "on the move", I would know exactly where they were. I have seen many lost liitle ones at Disney and the staff members are fantastic! They have walkie talkies so they can communicate with each other. The park also has a "Lost Children's" area that the kids will be brought to if they are lost. I like the idea of the Cell phone #'s stuck to the kids body with a bandaid or sticker! That's a really good idea with little ones.

 

[all4fun]

Before we got to the parks, we told them to look for someone with a tag and tell them that they were lost.

One caveat to this: Make sure you tell your dc to look for someone wearing a WHITE name tag as the "guest of honor" badges look very similar to CM badges but come in several colors with different characters on them. I have worn a GOH badge in the parks and was approached several times by people that thought I worked there. Of course, I was always more than willing to help them but I can see where the confusion comes from, lol.

Just thought I would mention it.

 

[graygables]

It is NOT a good idea to put your child's name anywhere that it can be seen. That is an invitation to a predator to call them by name, making them familiar to them.

While it's too late for the OP's trip, I bought military style dogtags (www.gotags.com) for my DDs with their name, our names, cell and home numbers on them. On the back, I put a label with our resort name (which can be changed for different trips). I also recently ordered them silicone bacelets (www.rekeydesigns.com) with Mom: (cell number) and Dad: (cell number) engraved on them. They wear these all the time now.

for the OP, when you get to the park, show your older 2 a CM name badge and tell them to look for one of those if they ever get lost. Also, you can make up labels for the INSIDE of their shirt (at the hemline) with their name/info on it and instruct them to show that to a CM if they are ever seperated from you.

 

[Mr._The_King]

It is NOT a good idea to put your child's name anywhere that it can be seen. That is an invitation to a predator to call them by name, making them familiar to them.

While it's too late for the OP's trip, I bought military style dogtags (www.gotags.com) for my DDs with their name, our names, cell and home numbers on them. On the back, I put a label with our resort name (which can be changed for different trips). I also recently ordered them silicone bacelets (www.rekeydesigns.com) with Mom: (cell number) and Dad: (cell number) engraved on them. They wear these all the time now.

for the OP, when you get to the park, show your older 2 a CM name badge and tell them to look for one of those if they ever get lost. Also, you can make up labels for the INSIDE of their shirt (at the hemline) with their name/info on it and instruct them to show that to a CM if they are ever seperated from you.

Well said, Thank you for posting this information.

 

[DawnM]

I lost my youngest at Tom Sawyer's Island when he was somewhere around 3-4. It was at Disneyland.

We went in the caves and my older son and I got out, but there was no sign of my younger son!

I was terrified! I kept imagining him falling into the water somewhere.

Thankfully a cast member found him and walked him, by hand, around the island until they found me.

I haven't ever heard of a child being successfully kidnapped at a Disney park....I have heard there was an incident at Disneyland in the 80's or so of an attempted kidnapping, but it was caught. Anyone know any more on that story or if anything like this has ever actually happened?

Dawn

 

[Mom to Jordan]

WE just returned from a week at DC with another family and we lost the 8 year old TWICE. Neither time she was really lost but at least one person thought she was missing. Both times was because one adult thought the other was or was not watching her. Once I took her to the bathroom and ten minutes later realized that the other three adults and the teen were freaking out looking for her. The second time we all just walked ahead thinking someone else had her. When we realized no one had her we went back to the last place and she was there still looking around. Knowing who has thier eyes on which kid at all times is so important.

 

[mmiller711]

Another good idea I have seen posted is to take their picture each morning with a digital camera or a phone that does pictures...That way if you do lose them you can show the CM what they were wearing that day as well as what they look like.

 

[Jo Jo]

Thank you to everyone for all the great advice. It was really helpful and I got some great ideas. And yes I am a little more relaxed about it.

8 days to go. Yahoo

 

[my4kids]

this is a great site -

http://www.whosshoesid.com/

You can buy little ID Tags to attach to there shoelaces if they are lost.
Another idea I saw on another thread was getting Pet Tags made at the pet store to put on their laces. I used to put a card inside their shoe with all info, but someone on the boards said that CMs are not allowed to remove any clothing (including shoes) to find ID - I used to tell my kids to take it out and present it themselves, but little ones would not do this....

I like the Whosshoes because the info and name is on the inside, so noone can see it without opening the velcro.