Safety tip for Preschoolers

[Kez250]

You may all of thought of this - but we used it in Jan with ds3 and dd1 - we wrote our cell phone numbers on their legs and one arm with a sharpie.
I was concerned that i'd lose sight for a split second then they'd be lost - they're too young to remember numbers and would probably panic and forget to show a piece of paper - but these numbers could be seen.

Thankfully they didn't get lost but if they had of hopefully it wouldn't of been for very long.

 

[Carol Ann]

I like this idea - thanks for sharing! Question - how many times during the week did you have to redo it?

 

[Colinsmom]

It's definitely worth putting phone numbers on the kids somehow. We had a tag engraved at Petsmart with Colin's first name and our cell phone numbers, and he wore it on his shoe (it was pretty obvious) should he become lost.

 

[lovethattink]

I bought those Who's Shoes kid's ID kit. There's even a place for allergies on them! If you decide to order these, if you type in theview as a discount code, you'll get a couple dollars off. I heard about these here on the DIS.

 

[tjmw2727]

We used the shoe tag with the cellphone number.

IN addition since my oldest was about 2yo I would play "what would you do right now" if we were separated?

We did this at the mall, in elevators, anywhere with a crowd, and made quite a game of it. In a crowded place I would ask "if we got separated right now what would you do" they would look around and tell me and we discussed the ideas.

This was after the time when my oldest, then 2, got on a elevator very fast - too fast for me and my then 2 month old and the stoller to get on, thanks to some very rude people I stuck my hand in the door and got my 2yo off - to the dismay of those same rude people.

Anyway from that day on we played the game and my girls knew what I wanted them to do. Every couple weeks or so in a given situatiion I would just say "what would you do now" and that helped them think fast and take in the options depending on where we were.

They are now 8 and 10 and we sometimes still do a drill for fun but they pretty much know the numbers and addresses and who we want them to trust. Thing is every family is different so you need to teach what you feel comfy with.

TJ

 

[MrsPete]

Having your cell phone number on the child's person is a great idea, but using a Sharpie marker?

 

[Kez250]

We only had to reapply it three times - it stayed through approx 2 showers - but not through baths - but this was January so they were not in and out of the pools - I suspect then it would need redoing more often.

MrsPete - We decided on a sharpie - because it's waterproof and doesn't rub off easily - a biro would rub off easily just through wear and tear - we couldn't think of anything else - what would you of used?

We have some shoe tags - but ds when he 2 had an obsession with removing his shoes in a split second - any shoes - - thankfully he seems to of got over that now but....

tjmw2727 - thanks for the what if idea - i'm going to play this with my kids - especially before we go to wdw in May

 

[rhiansmom]

Here is my safety tip from my preschooler:

We have a security word or "password" that we both know and it never changes. If anyone ever comes up to her and says "your mommy asked me to come pick you up" she knows to ask for the password. Anyone who doesn't know she knows that she needs to find help right away!

We practice it about once every 2 weeks or so just to refresh her memory. I may be obsessed with my daughters safety but other lessons on that 2 week rotation are:

fire safety (what to do and where to go)
telephone numbers (ours, my cell, nana's and 911)
what to do if she can't wake mommy up

she also has an official "bug" card giving her persmission to bug any one in the car until they buckle up.

 

[MrsPete]

ke250 -- When my kids were preschoolers we had information on their shoes and they wore tiny fanny packs with the information inside. We practiced the "give this to a person wearing a CM uniform" and we pointed out uniforms once we were in the park.

I would not write on my child's skin -- especially with permanant marker. I'm surprised it came off so quickly.

 

[cinjam]

We always pack a sharpie and a roll of masking tape. We tape our cell phone # to the back of the kid's shirts - on the outside. We tried the shoe tags initially and DS kept trying to get it off! With the masking tape, the kids do not even know it's there. They are 4 and 1 years old.

 

[Nicolepa]

When we are in a crowded place we always give them dh's business card so they at least know who they are looking for. At Disney we also give them a (non charging) room key so that a cast member can look up where they are staying if need be.

 

[Brina]

Every morning, after getting dressed and before leaving the room, we took a polaroid of each child. When you approach a cast member and tell them you have a child missing the first things they ask are "what does he look like" and "what is her wearing". Just whip out the polaroid.

Luckily, we never had to actually use it.

 

[justhat]

What age do you guys start 'labeling' your kids? My daughter will be almost 14 months when we go to Disney in April. We've been there with her 4 times, but the last time she was 9 months old and not walking yet. Now that she is walking I'm starting to think maybe I should put some ID on her. I mean, I would never let her walk in Disney alone since she's so young, but they're so quick and when you think they're standing right next to you they're gone.

 

[LibGirl]

This thread made me chuckle because I would have had the same reaction as some of you a few months ago - what?? write on my child's skin with a Sharpie???

Then my DD-7 joined the swim team. At every meet, we have to write every race #, heat, lane, distance and stroke with a Sharpie on her leg, so she can keep track of what she is supposed to do. ALL the kids do this. And each kid is in at least 4 races per day, sometimes 7-8. You can imagine what they look like!! And of course, we have to use a waterproof marker! It is especially interesting when we have a Saturday meet and go to church Sunday morning.

I will definitely do this with my DD-4 on our trip. She'll be thrilled to look like her big sis, the swimmer.

 

[KYmommy]

How did you all like the id's for the shoes? Our DS is 5yrs old and I am considering ordering an id? How did they work, did they stay on? (He also has a peanut allergy so the shoe id would work nicely with the med. bracelet.

Also, I am a teacher and once a year our school has someone come out and talk about strangers. One thing she always says is to go home and get a password for your family!!! Great Idea!!!

Kris

 

[disnutt]

Having your cell phone number on the child's person is a great idea, but using a Sharpie marker?

My kids routinely draw 'tattoos' on themselves with Sharpies and anything else they can round up. They would think this was really great. I can let them practice their numbers while protecting them.