My child is a "wanderer"

[eenglander]

I have a little boy (6 years old) who is a real wanderer. He will become absent-minded and drift off and become lost in a minute. We have to constantly keep our eye on him!

I'm wondering if anyone has tips for us. We're going to WDW in April, and I know it will be very crowded.

I have two ideas:

1. keep him in a stroller as much as possible. The problem here is that at 6 he's pretty big for a stroller!!! Any ideas?

2. Get a "Child Guard", one of those gizmos that beep when the child wanders off. Has anyone ever used one of those? Do they work?

I'm hopeful that someone will have great ideas for me!!!

Thanks!!!!

 

[korlows]

Oh GOD yes!
There are 2 strap like devices you can use. Sold at babies & Toys R us as well as drug stores like Walgreens, CVS, Eckerd.
My daughter is only 3 and we use the harness one w/a long strap (kind of like a dogs leash!)
The other I have seen goes around the wrist...I guess this could be attached to a belt around his waist or a pant loop.

I have had people offer me money for mine cause their kids wander off alot too.
Good Luck!
Korlows

 

[MaryKatesMom]

My oldest DD 6 would walk off with anyone and really just doesn't get the stay with mommy thing (thank god the youngest would bring down the house if anyone came near her).

Go for the stroller. It is absolutely big enough for a 6 yr old and would soooo ease your mind. At 8 buck a day it is a bargain.

 

[tink98]

We took DD4 nd DS7 this past July for their first trip. I was extremely worried about losing them (a friend's 7 yr old got lost at AK just the previous month and she said it was the most horrible experience of her life).

We insisted that one child hold one parents hand so "we" wouldn't get lost! Before the trip we went to local Petco pet store and made dog tags that said AKL and Dad's Cell phone and listed the phone number, we then laced these onto their sneakers. We talked with our kids extensively about this and if they could not find us they were to stay put, ask a CM or other adult to call the number on the tag. Although we never needed to use them, it was peace of mind having them. We also used stroller for DD everyday (too hot for all that walking on those little legs) and DS (7 but only 48 lbs) begged us for a double one day and they both fit - no problem.


Hope you have a safe trip

 

[mom2boys]

In the past I have made "business cards" for each of my children. They include the child's name, our hotel & cell phone numbers. In addition since both of my children have food allergies (which could be life threatening) I include that information as well.
If you are staying on-site, the magnetic strip in the room key/admission pass will have name & hotel info.

 

[eenglander]

thanks for the advice.

maybe a two-pronged approach...stroller and wrist thingy.....do they rent double (front & back type) strollers there (i also have a 3 year old who will definitely be in a stroller!)?? and since we'll be there a busy week, do they ever run out of rental strollers?

 

[MaryKatesMom]

The stoller are unlike those you see in the real world. They are large (blue in the MK and purple in Epcot) plastic things. They are "side by side" but there is nothing to divide the sides. Very easy to push around. They will easliy accomadate your two children plus all the stuff.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

I read somewhere on here about another good idea!

If you have a digital camera, take a few pictures of your kid(s) before entering any park - everyday. Take a headshot, a full length shot, and maybe a side shot. This way - IF the kid(s) still get lost you have pictures of them from that day of what they look like and what they are wearing. The beauty of digital is that you can erase them when you get back to your hotel and take new ones each day.

Nothing beats a simple business card or tag of some sort and talking with the child to make them understand who to go to should they become "misplaced".

D4D

 

[kbkids]

Here's a link with pictures of the strollers in each of the parks.

http://allearsnet.com/pl/strol_faq.htm

 

[korlows]

These are some really great ideas!

Also, those Park rental strollers don't really allow room for the children to lay down (3 year old) so maybe 2 doubles? (I tend to think too much ahead so sorry.) Remember to tie something on it that you can easliy identify at a distance....there are a ton of those strollers around (even finding your own can be a pain.)

They make stroller hangers also (looks kindof like a S ) that come in handy (I shop alot and bring a small soft cooler for juices and water) Also FREEZE Water and bring it in a bottle cooler (like the ones they use for beer) this way you won't be at the mercy of the Disney Vendors. Worse comes to worse...take a trip to the local gas station (outside MK there's an Exxon I believe...If you rent or drive a car....2.50 a gallon vs. 2.50 a bottle!)

Best of luck to ya!
Korlows

 

[HappyMommy2]

Good thread--I've appreciated reading these helpful ideas!

I wanted to add that next time we go to Disney I'm going to try to dress each of our little boys in a distinctive shirt each day. I realized the value of doing this last week when we were at the mall on a PACKED day--it was crazy there! We were at the play area in the mall and suddenly I saw a lady looking around for her child, obviously panicked. She was yelling her son's name and calling out, "little boy in a red Mickey Mouse shirt!" to everyone around her. In just a moment a couple of us spotted the little guy in the Mickey shirt in a corner nearby and were able to signal his VERY relieved mom!

I don't think it would have been nearly as easy to spot the child in the sea of people if he hadn't been wearing such a distinctive shirt (granted, at Disney it would have to be something other than a Mickey shirt to really stand out!)

 

[Dr.Mickey]

We didn't do this, but thought about it with some friends who have a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old. With 4 adults watching, we never lost them thankfully.

We talked about using Avery shipping labels for your printer. Put whatever info you like on it - like hotel, parents' names, cell #, etc. Our plan was to tag each child each day by flipping up her shirt tail and putting the label on the inside of the shirt down at the hemline. Don't want anyone calling them by name just from reading their shirt so we didn't want to put anything on the outside. This way, the lil one finds an adult with a badge, flips up her shirt tail and has the CM search for Mommy and Daddy.

Shoe tags sound like a great idea, too. Labels might wilt if they get wet - so bring extras.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

HappyMommy2 comment reminds me to mention the playards. The bone yard in AK and the "Honey I shrunk the kids" play yard in MGM are really fun places for the younger kids like your own.

However, be prepared to run a man to man defense. They are very big places and it is impossible for one person to keep an eye on two kids. My girls love them but I only go when my husband is with us so he follows one and I follow the other. Even the small little playard in Toontown I bent down to take a picture of one DD and heard the other scream because another child hit her. (It was a disagreement over what babies can eat and the other mother was mortified).

 

[jann1033]

just a added tip about the ''easily lost" kids...we always had a code word so *if * they did get lost they knew not to go with anyone who did not know the word (ie if someone said your mommy said for me to take you to her they knew not to go.) it also helped in an emergency once when I had to have a friend get the oldest from school once.

 

[MissMagnolia]

I was talking about this very same thing (the wandering) with my hairdresser today and she said that she saw (at a ShopKo, I think) a device that you put on the child and it beeps when they get a certain distance away from you. I suppose there is a piece that the parent keeps with them and one for the child. Worth checking into - I think I will. Otherwise, I was thinking about doing the ID tag with the cell phone number for the shoe.

 

[kbkids]

If you decide to do the cell phone number in the shoe idea, don't do like me and wait until the last minute. I thought about it in the morning while we were getting dressed to go to the parks, so I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote our name and number on it and folded it up and put it in her shoe - didn't figure a piece of paper would bother her in walking throughout the day. It didn't, but at night when we took her shoes off, the paper was totally illegible! Glad she didn't get lost!

 

[SnackyStacky]

I would definitely go with a child's leash. I don't know what they're called, so I don't mean to offend anyone!

There are SO many people at Disney World, and it just seems to me that the device that beeps wouldn't prevent the child from wandering off. With as many people as can crowd into a specific area, it just seems safer to keep the child tethered to you.

 

[houseofmouse]

Originally posted by HappyMommy2
(granted, at Disney it would have to be something other than a Mickey shirt to really stand out!)

Agreed!
Last year we lost our DD then 5 in Toontown and when I had to describe her I told her physical description then said (while starting to cry) "She is wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt like every other 5 year old here" I won't do that this time unless she has on her bright yellow sun hat too! (luckily, we found her in about 5 min. she was in Minnies House)

I LOVE the digital camera picture idea! I will be doing that as well.

 

[pampam]

I have friends that used the strap attatched to father and son's wrist. The father stopped to talk to someone and then realized his 5 year old had fastened his end to a post and wandered off. Everything worked out ok. I guess his son just got tired of waiting, (with a 5 year old that would be like 30 seconds), took the strap off his wrist, hooked it to a post and left his father fastened to that post.

 

[Schmeck]

I think a six year old could be embarassed by being "Leashed", especially with a harness! We also saw a pre-schooler on a long harness/leash, and someone walked right between the parent and child at MK, and the poor child got knocked to the ground and scraped on the chin.

I think the sensor sounds cool, but wouldn't it just be better to pay a bit more attention to your child? Hold the child's hand, etc? You wouldn't let the child wander down a city street, so why would you let him wander in WDW?