Lost kids in WDW

[MinnieTink]

The reason for this post is that I woke up at 530 this morning from a horrible dream that my 8 y/o daughter went missing at Epcot. Talk about a nightmare. I am a very vigilant parent and would never let my kids wander off anywhere, at any time. It's just one of those dreams...

But, it got me to thinking. Do you talk to your kids before your trips to tell them how to handle it if you should happen to get separated? What do you say?

I did see two young girls, maybe 8 or 9, last August, in the gift shop by Splash Mountain. They were sitting on the rocking chairs in there, crying and crying, because they couldn't find their parents. Poor things. The CM said "It does happen." and that security was working on finding the parents.

Thanks in advance for your replies.....

j

 

[Not so Dumbo]

Well, my last trip with DS5 was no dream, it happend.... 12 times!
I know, you must be thinking that I don't watch him. Well, not exactly, we were dealing with a boy who thought it was fun to run away and everytime he didn't get his way he would. Maybe not right a way, but as soon as he knew I wasn't watching for a second, he'd be gone.
I had more than one heartattack after not being able to find him after 10 min of looking. That's why we always make him were an ID tag on the back of his shirt (he can't get it off if it's on his back)
I know my situation is a bit different. We do talk to them before we leave and I know DS8 would listen. We tell them if they get lost to stay where they are and we will come looking for them.

 

[mom2alix]

I saw this link on the tips thread here and think I'm going to get these for our next trip.
http://shop.tottoos.org/product.sc?categoryId=1&productId=8

On our last trip the other mom we were with made bead bracelets for all the kids with our cell numbers on them. Her son got ahead of us on the trail to the petting are in AK and got scared. He went up to a "mommy with children" as he'd been taught and she was nice enough to call my friend's phone. Ironically we were maybe 10 ft from him, but it was still reassuring that he knew what to do.

We always show our kids what the CMs uniforms look like and then tell them that if they can't find a CM, to look for a mommy who has kids.

 

[LISAVWL]

I worry about this on every trip too! We introduce our kids to a CM & point out their nametag as soon as we enter a park so they know who to look for -- someone with a nametag. DD knows our cell # and all my kids have the who's shoe ID tags on their shoes. (http://www.whosshoesid.com/)
We tell them to call for us by our first name -- too many Mommies & Daddies! We also tell them to stop right where they realized we were lost (we say the parents are lost not the kids just to take a little scare out of it) and not move until we come to them. Thank goodness we haven't had to deal with this yet but we go over it every day! I also take a pciture on my digital camera each morning of the kids -- Lord knows if this ever happened I would never be able to remember what they're wearing from day to day!

 

[danx2plus3more]

i went to pets mart and had one of the big dog tags made..it had our resort my cell # my dh cell #. both grandmas cell #s and his broth who was 12 at the times cell #...we used a saftey pin to attach it to him he was 3 at the time and never messed with it and it was big shiny and gold plated it stood out great just an idea..we liked it because it coulg get wet wanst going to bend no ink to wear off

 

[gabriellyn]

I had to laugh when I read about the DS5 who got lost 12 times - could have been us! My DS6 got lost at least that many times too - for some reason he was just good at that! I thought that all the crying and hysterics would have caused him to stick to us like glue, but no such luck. He was never gone for more than a minute or two, but I am sure it seemed like forever to him.

Anyway, he was wearing a lanyard at all times with a paper tag that I had laminated w/all of our info plus a flashlight for dark rides. My youngest DS had the same thing, but his was attached to his shoe with a key ring. Only once did someone call about DS6 - I think when he was gone for about 2 minutes. What a relief that he was able to find help quickly.

My DD12 has a cell phone, but she never "accidentally" wandered off. LOL And luckily DS16mos was in a stroller with straps otherwise we would have been in real trouble.

 

[Momvic5]

I worry about this on every trip too! We introduce our kids to a CM & point out their nametag as soon as we enter a park so they know who to look for -- someone with a nametag. DD knows our cell # and all my kids have the who's shoe ID tags on their shoes. (http://www.whosshoesid.com/)
We tell them to call for us by our first name -- too many Mommies & Daddies! We also tell them to stop right where they realized we were lost (we say the parents are lost not the kids just to take a little scare out of it) and not move until we come to them. Thank goodness we haven't had to deal with this yet but we go over it every day! I also take a pciture on my digital camera each morning of the kids -- Lord knows if this ever happened I would never be able to remember what they're wearing from day to day!

I agree totally! We pretty much tell our kids the same thing ~ stop where you are at and stay there, call for us by name, look for a CM or another mom with children, and show your information card or tag. This past December we lost our DD8 for seconds in Hollywood Studios. She had stopped to trade pins with a CM without telling us. We kept on walking without a clue and within seconds we noticed she was missing. Let me just say, it was only SECONDS that she was missing but I will never forget that horrible feeling of helplessness and panic. It was crowded and I wanted everyone to stop in their tracks until I found her. She came skipping into view with a big grin and feeling quite proud that she had found a "really cool pin". She was not even aware that she was missing!

I can tell you that my mind went blank in that moment of panic so I think taking pictures of your children each morning is a great idea. I also think older children can forget their memorized numbers in a moment of stress so make sure they have the necessary numbers handy too. Have your younger children practice what you want them to do so that they will be familiar with what they will need to do if they should get lost.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

my dd was 3 when she wandered off from her stroller while i was at the register. I looked down and she was gone. Those were the worst moments of my life. Disney was fantastic. They have so many undercover security guards. so thank you to them.

My girls are 8 and 6. My oldest knows my name , which our reservation is under and my cell phone number. My youngest gets nervous and so i have a velcro tag that i can interchange on her shoes which has our information. I tell them to stay where they are if they can, show them to look for people with the Disney tags, never to follow anyone to the bathroom or leave the park. I tell them that i will NEVER leave without them so not to panic and I WILL find them.

No matter how well you watch your children, sometimes things happen.

 

[2Kds2K9]

CM's tend to be on the look out also.

We had gotton off Splash Mountain and DH, DS7 and DD5 went to the restroom. I went to look at the pictures. DH came out with DD and asked where DS was. YIKES! We immediately started looking and I was trying to find a CM. DH found DS right out side the ride area at a Toy Cart. The CM there was holding his hand. Seems that DS eyeballed the Toy Cart and went right for it. The CM noticed that there was no parent hovering, so she gently grabbed his hand and held him with the idea that she'd soon see the panicked parents. We were very grateful for her keen eye.

(Yep, wrote a letter to Disney to commend her)

Enjoy!

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

We always show our kids what the CMs uniforms look like and then tell them that if they can't find a CM, to look for a mommy who has kids.

I tell my kids the same thing -- always find a "Mommy." They're everywhere.

My kids have memorized my cell phone, and I always, always write it on their skin under their shirts.

----funny story:

In 1985, when I was a kid, my brothers (9 and 6) and I (13) went to school in Lausanne, Switzerland. We went to three different schools - none of which provided transportation. My mother would go to work every morning, and we'd find our way to our respective schools on three different city busses.

One day, my 6 year old brother forgot to get off the city bus at his correct stop. He ended up in another town - not able to read well enough or speak French well enough to ask for directions. He sat for a while, and finally he found an ASIAN lady and told her, in English, that he was lost. He reasoned that since she obviously didn't look European, she must be foreign like him. (SMART KID!)

True to his "Stranger Danger" training, he refused to tell her his name or where he lived. (Talk about backfiring.) But she finally coaxed him to give up his phone number and she called my mom. My mother told her what stop he was supposed to get off, and the nice lady gave him bus fare and put him back on the correct bus and told him when to get off.

When he got off at the bus stop he recognized he ran home in relief.

Now that I'm a mother of two, I can't imagine asking my 8 year old to find his own way to school on a city bus in a foreign country -- but that's the way we were raised. I do believe it made us more self-reliant and responsible, though.

 

[ksumn1]

I lost my oldest DD when she was almost 4. She had to go to the restroom "all by herself". I came out of the stall, washed my hands, and sat in a chair and waited and waited and waited. I called her..no answer. I finally walk out of the restroomto the hall leading to the foodcourt. I don't see her.
At this point, I'm freaking out. A second later, I'm tapped on the shoulder by a lady with a baby and a maybe 3 year old. "Does she belong to you?" she asked. SHe said my DD had somehow snuck by while I waiting in the restroom and (I guess while I was digging in my purse) to go look at the little trinkets in the machines. And then decided to go to the Disney Store (in sight of the restrooms) but changed her mind and headed back. And then she realized she was lost. SO she looked for a Mommy with a kid (like we said) and told her she couldn't find her Mommy. I tell you I was so grateful. The lady asked my DD if I was her Mommy, what was my name and asked to see my ID to make sure. Very smart move.

SO we trained DD's to stay put, or if they see a CM (look for nametag) and tell them they're lost. I put a tag with my cell # around their neck, along with my name. My kids also know to call me by name and not just Mommy if they're lost. And I believe I've read that if the parents aren't located within a matter of minutes, they take them to the lost and found at that park. And then you can pick them up there. The CM's have a way to communicate with each other in a situation like this.

 

[DevilDuckie]

Now that I'm a mother of two, I can't imagine asking my 8 year old to find his own way to school on a city bus in a foreign country -- but that's the way we were raised. I do believe it made us more self-reliant and responsible, though.

The world was safer when we were kids. Okay, 6 still seems young to me for traveling on the bus alone, but I've never been to Switzerland.There are a fair number of things I did as a child that I simply could not let DS do these days.

 

[mrstomrice]

Disney CM's are so well trained fo rthis. According to what I witnessed last summer, any lost child will be taken to the Baby Care Center...each park has one. If you are missing your child, go to any CM. They will be in contact with the BCC and see if your child has been sent there to wait for you. I have my DS3 memorize our names and our address.

 

[Harlie]

Just advice for those that use nicknames for their LO's, Make sure they know their real name. My parents called me Jake as a child and I did not know my real name was Jennifer. One day I was being watched by my aunt who at the time lived across the street from us, that happened to be the night my parents were moving into a new home on the other end of the city. They left me there because I fell asleep and they didn't want to wake me, well I woke up and everyone else was in bed and I left the house to go across the street to what I knew was our house only to have strangers answer the door when I hit the doorbell! They called Social services and they had problems the went to my aunts but no one answered the door, and here they had a four year old girl who called herself "Jake". The cops were out full force on the street and eventually the commotion woke up my aunt and she went to see what was going on, and sure enough she experienced (as she called ) the single most embarrassing momment of her life, Not only did I think my first name was jake but I was also convinced my last name was "the snake"! So here Social Services was trying to find the parents of "Jake the Snake". So my aunt was asked "are you the parent of Jake the Snake?" My aunt wanted to crawl in a hole.

Needless to see my parents started to call me by my birth name shortly after that

 

[tjlovespooh]

I saw this link on the tips thread here and think I'm going to get these for our next trip.
http://shop.tottoos.org/product.sc?categoryId=1&productId=8

.

We used these for our trip last year. Applied them in the AM, before sunscreen, and they stayed on all day. They were a bit of a pain to rub off at night but the security of them staying on all day made it well worth it IMO. Also, we applied the tottoo on DS's forearm (his hand was too small - he was only 1) so that it was easily visible and nobody would have any reason to "search/touch" him to find the info. Because your child is older you may just want to consider using ID info (whether it's a tag or bracelet - whatever) that she can have readily available (so she doesn't need to take her eyes off who she's speaking to - as to keep herself from becoming vulnerable in any way). Also, keep info to the minimum. Strangers certainly don't need to be given any names - just a phone # if the child gets lost.
These are just my opinions - but I thought I would share.

 

[GothTink]

My DD7 and I have been talking a lot lately about what to do if she gets lost while we're in WDW, and we've decided to sit down and have "craft time" together and make her a lovely beaded bracelet (with her fave colors), featuring daddy's cell phone number. She's all sorts of excited, and seems to know what to do should something happen. Luckily...she's a hand-holder, so hopefully we won't get separated.

 

[SplashMountainMama]

We just got back and saw a little girl get seperated from her parents while waiting in line for Kali River Rapids. When she realized she was lost she huddled in a corner crying. The lady infront of us tried to talk to her to help her, but I don't think she spoke any English. The poor little girl was terrified. The lady infront went to go find a CM, but while she was gone the little girl's brother and Dad found her. It was a great opportunity to explain to my daughter why I make her stay so close. We had been battling about this the whole trip. I was glad she got to see how scared that little girl was because she didn't stray too far after that.

 

[Bork]

I got lost at the MK when I was 9 (1984). We were in the Emporium at the end of the day. We were looking at some racks, and I turned around and they were gone. We were near the door, so I thought they went outside. I didn't see them outside, so I found the nearest CM. He must have been on the radio because another CM came out with my parents less than a minute later. I wasn't scared but my parents were sure freaked out.

Luckily, DS3 never wandered off during our trip last week. He was either in the stroller or holding hands. But the last few days, it was very hard to get him to hold hands.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

I should mention that when my kids were toddlers - between 1-3 years old - I used a leash. I used it religiously in airports or in places where I knew my attention was going to be distracted (for example: by airport security, gate agents, etc.)

I know leashes can be a hot button issue, but I always knew my tots were safe when I had them at the end of that leash.

My kids actually liked the leash because they felt much less restricted than being strapped into a stroller. The "I want in-I want out-in-out-in-out" nature of strollers drives me and them nuts.

 

[ang]

Taking a picture everymorning is a good idea.
My son got lost at home depot .....they shut down the whole store...anyway..they ask me what he was wearing, I could not remember, my mine went blank! We found him of course...

Also, I went to Walmart, the dog tags, they works great and only $6. They machine is usually right up front. I put resort, cell, and my name and his. I put it on his shoe laces.