Parents worst nightmare

[oobidoo]

Have never had a problem with DD11 trying to get away, as she was always afraid to leave me side and LOVED the stroller...BUT...I dont think it is ANYONE'S business if you put a harness on your child, OR a child that you are caring for. You are not in any way harming the child, however, that child could very well be harmed if they get away from you at the wrong place and the wrong time. I have seen instances where a kid jerked and flailed around until they broke lose from a parent's grip and took of running at WDW!! What are you supposed to do about that? I would be thrilled to know that someone that was caring for my child cared enough about her safety to take matters into their own hands and put a harness on her, even if it was something that I did not normally do. Who cares who looks at you funny anyway? They need to get the stick out of their !@#$% and worry about their own!!!!

 

[bwv4me]

I, too was one of those people who, BC (Before Children), thought "leashes" were horrible. Now that I have my second, a two-year who thinks he's much older, I think of them as a wonderful invention. A harness is nothing more than a piece of material that connects parent and child. What's so horrible about that? BTW, here is an adorable one I picked up at Walmart (found out about it on the boards). Haven't used it yet, but I have intentions of using it for my next trip to the World. So far, it is a WDW tool only. Check it out - its so cute and looks like a monkey backpack.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Monkey-Child-Saf...temZ7715674187QQcategoryZ100224QQcmdZViewItem

 

[The Sweetness]

This happened to me once at the monorail, a throng of people were comming right at us, and like a moron, instead of holding her hand (she was *too big* for that I told her to stay close) and ofcourse we got seperated. To this day, DD will still reach for my hand in a huge crowd (shes now 14)

 

[Kimberly]

When I was 5 years old or so, I hid under a coat rack at Macy's in Paramus Park (mall in northern NJ). Meanwhile my mother told a clerk, and all of the doors were locked down immediately, all the registers were shut, while they had about 50 people or more searching for me. Meanwhile, me being under the coat rack, thought it was funny. It still annoys my mother to this day when I bring it up.

Just wanted to shed a little bit of dark humor on this post.

 

[J/T Gramdma]

I also think the a harness is a good idea for some places especially if they are crowded places. I was on the Shades of Green bus and a mother had a very active 2yr old would not sit still. She also had in infant. we got to talking and she said she had a wrist strap for him but he kept taking it off and running. it was the beginning of the day and she already was starting to look frazzled. I asked her if the little boy had a belt loop on his shorts in the back. She could hook on the beltloop. She loved the idea and as soon as they were off the bus she stopped and attached it to his shorts.

 

[allaboutmm]

Here are some other tid-bits I got on these boards that I thought were great!

- Make I.D. tags that go on your childs shoe lace. Put your cell # on it. The kind of tags people were talking about were the kind you make in a pet store.

-WalMart has cute leashes, they are half stuffed animal( monkey or dog), and look like a back pack. Now I never was a leash believer, our 2 sons always stayed w/ us. Our daughter(2.9) has no fear, first trip for her to WDW in Dec.,yes, I bought the leash!! The price was only $10, she likes it so much I put it away thinking she'd be sick of it b/f our trip!

-Great idea taking a new photo every morning of your child. In a time of panic, when I am sure you can't think straight, this would come in so handy!!!

I don't know if my heart could take it if I lost one of my kids at WDW ( or any place else!). Thanks for sharing your stories! Have to go take a Tums now I have a nervous belly ache!!!!

 

[sb4k]

Back in 2000 my MIL, husband, me and two kids were in Epcot trying to find a seat for a parade. I sat down with my kid and stroller, hubby sat down, MIL sat down. Looked around and asked hubby where "his" kid was. Seems my son who was about 2.5 at the time just kept walking instead of sitting down with us. We immediately contacted a cast member who somehow in their private network was able to let every other cast member and a central station know. Thankfully I remember exactly what he was wearing. About 20 heartstopping minutes later he was found and brought back to us by a cast member drinking a bottle of water. Personally I think Disney would be a pretty safe place to lose a kid. Their behind the network scenes are pretty amazing for finding children. From our next trip I vow to dress all the kids in the same color (there are now 4). And take pictures of them every morning.

 

[KristineN]

We just got back from WDW...2 of my kids, dd10, ds8 wanted to go on Big Thunder...dd5 did not want to go. So hubby & I the 5 yr old said we would wait for them while they went. It was a 20 minute standby line. It was a Saturday & a madhouse at the MK. So we went and found a bench to sit on. Somehow these 2 kids got into the fastpass line and were done in 5 minutes. Of course they got off the ride & don't see me cause we went & found a bench. So here my kids are lost & I didn't even know it!! After 15 mins I deicde to go start waiting for them...much to my amazement I see 2 sobbing kids in the distance with a CM. Thankfully they were smart enough to go to a CM. It was a sobering experience to say the least.

 

[tmt martins]

Another tip for watching Multipule kids put tape or bandaids on finger with names on them so instead of tring to count and get know is or not their you have a name with face and if the finger is not down you know who is missing.this works great if attending kids that are not your own.

 

[engle]

I just returned from Disney 2 weeks ago and saw the most awful accident regarding a leash. I don't have kids and don't really have an opinion about the leash. But, here goes....

Mom with leash on son.

Teenager running to catch parking lot tram with other teens.

Teen runs between mom and son on leash, doesn't see the leash.

Takes them both out.

Mom, DEFINITE broken arm.

Son, bloodied face including broken teeth!

Teen, TERRIBLY skinned up face, hands and knees as well as possible broken jaw!!

I called cast members who called emergency personnel.

The dad just kept telling the mom how ridiculous he thought that leash was in the first place!!

 

[Joanna71985]

Once when I was working a family walked up to me and the father showed his kids what a CM looks like so in case they got lost they knew who to look for. I showed them my nametage and everything.

 

[SammieG]

I am totally at a loss as to why anyone would think that harnesses on small children are inappropriate?

Perhaps someone could enlighten me!?

 

[chirurgeon]

If your child is old enough, get them their own fanny pack (our first trip, my Dniece wasn't quite 3 and she loved hers) and put a card with all your information on it in the fanny pack. Make sure they know to leave the card in the pack and check in the mornings. Also, in this day of digital cameras, take a picture each morning so you know what the child is wearing. Just go to that photo and the CMs will know exactly what the child is wearing.

Kim

 

[Meezers]

I lost my Mom at Osborne Lights a couple of years ago...and I am in my 40's! I was hysterical....she had no cell phone signal and the place was packed!

Thank goodness we had a friend nearby using an ECV....in fire engine red...big attention grabber.

Only took 5 minutes to find her....but it was a LONG 5 minutes! Can you tell I am little protective of my Mom?

 

[jann1033]

my mother always complained about the leashes so i never used on for my daughter aka "flash" who at about 2 was constantly getting out of the stroller and gone as soon as my back was turned , "hiding" inside the dress racks ect at the store till i was in a panic . well i can't take that now with gd. who at 1 knows how to open the shopping cart/ stroller seat belts already so as soon as she realizes she can also get out of the stroller, if she is the same as her mom was,i'd use one in heartbeat...to nerve racking! and at wdw next yr. i'd do what ever it takes to keep her corralled and safe

and sorry, to each his own, but imo to equate keeping a young child safe to walking a dog is ridiculous. it's a dangerous world and anything can happen in an instant...even the post about the teen breaking the mom's arm. if he was running that fast he could have killed the kid if he ploughed in to him also and the leashes i have seen are maybe 18" long so why was he cutting that close to either of them any way. just an unthinking kid doing a dumb thing

 

[mommaU4]

My thoughts on the leash:
If any of those kids who have been lost at DW had been on a leash...they would never have gotten lost to begin with.

You'd think that right? At DL once I saw a kid walking around crying obviously lost, trailing along behind him was the leash part attched to the harness he was wearing!! Unbelievable. I'm all for doing what ever you have to do to keep your kids safe including leashes, however they only work if you actually hold to them! IMHO, the only thing we should think when we see a parent using a leash is that they clearly are concerned for their childs safety and that's one way (of many) to protect them. Period.

Love the idea of taking pics of your kids every morning before you set out. And also of putting an I.D. tag somewhere on them. One word of caution with that though is to be careful who can see it. Like if their name was written on their arm or even a personalized shirt, I've read that a predator can use that to their advantage. By calling a child by their name they can gain their trust easier. You know to a 4 yr old this person must not be a stranger if they know my name. That sort of thing.

Also speaking of names, it seems obvious, but make sure your child knows both parents full names. So many younger kids when asked for their parents name say "mommy" or "daddy", since that is what they call us.

Thanks for some of the great advice, warnings, stories, etc. It's not a fun topic, I know, but it's an important one. So let's all be safe and keep an eye on our and others kids.

 

[Stacey2grls]

We had a really close and terrorfying call this past may. It was one of 2 Spectromagics on for the week that we were there, so it was jammed packed! At the end I turned from my girls 5 and 7 for a second to check our belongings, (I also thought my husband was watching them ) when I turn around and my 5 year old is gone! I mean my back for turned for maybe 4-5 seconds, and she's gone. Needless to say we freaked! I ran through the throngs of people that were going the opposite way, where I found my daughter just walking along with people, she had no clue that she was lost, even though for only a momment. It was especially horrorfying because it was dark, and there were so many people, that when I think about it, I cringe. Thank god all turned out ok. But, my word of advice is never turn your back on your kids!

 

[mrslur]

Along these lines, I read above about someone who uses a harness. My DH and I disagree on this issue, but my DD is so speedy that I am afraid if I blink she could take off on her own. DH doesn't want to put her on a leash...what do you all think about this? I don't recall many people using them at WDW but then again, I do recall seeing many lost kids during our past trips. I don't want my DD to be one of them in 2 weeks. DH seems embarassed about using the leash, like we'd be the only ones "walking" our little girl. Thoughts?

My now 20 year old son could disappear in a heartbeat as a toddler. He would hide in clothing racks, wander the toy department, etc. I didn't use a harness but did use something that went from my wrist to his wrist with a telephone cord type thing in between. I found it at Toys R Us. I think it added years to my life knowing he was always just a few feet away. It wasn't quite as restrictive as a harness, although I would have used that, if that was all I could find

 

[NotUrsula]

Safety reins for toddlers have been in use in Europe for centuries, there is nothing "new" or inhumane about them, and no one in England would ever be surprised to see them in use.

Currently available American reins tend to be rather poorly designed, with a strap that is too long, which in a crowd can result in the sort of tripping incident that is described above. European-made reins usually have a loop strap, with each end fastened to a ring behind each of the child's shoulders. Left to dangle, the rein strap should hang no lower than the child's ankles, which means that if you are holding the rein, the child cannot get further than about 2 feet from your hand. Most European reins are sold with both the long loop strap and a second set of two short straps about 10" long; the shorter straps can be used to secure the harness to shopping carts, highchairs or strollers, so that Jr. Houdinis cannot stand in them or escape when one's back is turned.

 

[SplashLover93]

im one of the stop doesn't tell anyone im stopping and my family walks on it happened in epcot i stopped to look at something and my aunt and my aunts friend,my dad,grandpa,grandma,bro (you get the picture BIG group) walked on without me well i was like 11 and i knew my mom was in mouse gear so what do i do go in mouse gear since i couldn't see my family (i was right in front of it anyway) it took me about 5 minutes to find my mom (that store is bigger than i thought!)and another storymy dad me and aunt grandma (ok everyone except my mom) were getting ready to go back to the hotel my mom was still shopping (again in mouse gears!!!) so me and my dad had to go through the whole store to find her (she kept moving!!!) well those are my stories