A little tip for those bring small children to Disneyland

[lauras5boys]

A friend told me this one and i thought it was great. If you have a little one write your cell phone number in ink on the inside of their forearm. If they get seperated from you there is an easy way to track you down.

[Crazy4DL]

A friend told me this one and i thought it was great. If you have a little one write your cell phone number in ink on the inside of their forearm. If they get seperated from you there is an easy way to track you down.

Excellent!! thanks! we are going to be there with 6 little ones :)

[sdfilmcritic]

I've seen some kids have a sticker on the back of their shirt with the name and phone number of the parent. Other kids I've seen have tattoos with the information. (Okay, I'm kidding about that last one.)

[Pirate Princess]

Depending on their age (probably 3+ depending on the child) put a small index card full of all your info on it then tell them if they can't find you to hand the card to someone. This is good for children not yet old enough to find a specific meeting location and without the worry of the pen washing off their arm (especially if a hot day!)

[Rhiannon8404]

I always have DS (6yo) carry two my business cards with my cell phone highlighted and our hotel info on the back, one in his pocket and one in the plastic pouch on his lanyard.

[ima_mickeyfan]

good idea! I will have to remember to "mark" my children b4 entering the park. They will have The trading pin Lanyards, so I will be putting our cell # in that. What kind of information should you put on it.? With out giving out 2 much information? :confused:

[MammaSilva]

Another piece of advice, in this day and age of digi cams...take a couple shots of each kid, a decent face shot and then a full length so that what they are wearing shows each morning before you head into the parks....that way IF you do 'lose' one you have a totally current pic of them and you can accurately describe what they were wearing (yeah you'd THINK you could do it from memory but you'd be amazed at how often you couldn't).....

[adriennek]

One of the finest CMs I ever knew, a wonderful woman who passed away a couple of years ago, gave me that tip when I interviewed her for one of my favorite, more timeless articles (linked here) (http://www.mouseplanet.com/akrock/akrock7.htm) about getting lost at Disneyland and tips to avoid being lost or to be reunited quickly.

Adrienne

[Rhiannon8404]

Great article! Thanks for linking to it.

[Tinkerbelle923]

Wonderful artical Adrienne-

I just wanted to share my method as well,
On our last trip each of my children carried a small backpace with all the information writen down twice, and put in 2 seperate locations/ one being the plastic info holder inside, the other in the front pocket.
I also had written the info on adhesive labels that I stuck to the inside of their shirts.

What info to include?
This is what I wrote:

Please Help I'm Lost 3 years old
My name is (first and last)
My mommy is (my first and last)
Her cell phone number is (123) 456-7890
My daddy is (his first and last)
His cell phone number is (123) 456-7891

remember when including a cell phone number to include the area code ( if dialing from out of the registared area, you need the area code.)

[Mark Goldhaber]

My son has one of the Disney name tags. We write my cell number on the back of the tag (and cover it with clear tape so that it doesn't rub off). He knows that, if he gets separated from us, he should find the nearest cast member and ask them to call the number on the back of his name tag.

[passthepixiedust]

Great article ! I am REALLY nervous about this as I am travelling alone with my three (it's one of the main reasons we haven't gone until now)..... but I do feel alot better after reading this.

Thanks !

[seattlemom]

We bought a gross of the plastic bracelets from Oriental Trading Company, kind've like the ones you wear at the hospital. We then write cell phone numbers in permanent maker on them and have each kid wear it for the day.

They do this every year at my husband's company picnic, and I thought it was a good idea, so we use it ourselves for places like Disneyland.

[justlittleoldme]

We have a name badge for each of the kids, with my cell number on the back. At disneyland- the front namebadge place when you walk in the park usually has a black perminant marker you can use if you need it.

[Tinkerbelle923]

I need to add a caution for everyone that has their child wear a name tag:

There is a different danger of having your childs name visable...we all tell our children not to talk to strangers, we all show them how to find a CM, both great tips for kids.

But to a child if someone addresses them by name, most kids think they must know that person and respond or worse go with them.

so if your child has a name tag and a stranger walks up to them and sais
"Hi Amy, your mom asked me to show you the swans by the castle"
well little Amy now thinks that this is true, and safe after all (s)he knew her name, they must know her.
Now mom turns around and little Amy is no where to be found.....
A risk I as a parent I personaly won't take.

this is not intended to start new urban ledgends just a cautionary word to parents, we all want to keep our children safe.

[kadiehl]

I need to add a caution for everyone that has their child wear a name tag:

There is a different danger of having your childs name visable...we all tell our children not to talk to strangers, we all show them how to find a CM, both great tips for kids.

But to a child if someone addresses them by name, most kids think they must know that person and respond or worse go with them.

so if your child has a name tag and a stranger walks up to them and sais
"Hi Amy, your mom asked me to show you the swans by the castle"
well little Amy now thinks that this is true, and safe after all (s)he knew her name, they must know her.
Now mom turns around and little Amy is no where to be found.....
A risk I as a parent I personaly won't take.

this is not intended to start new urban ledgends just a cautionary word to parents, we all want to keep our children safe.

My husband has said this exact same thing when we were talking about the kids and Disney. He is a police officer and learned about these behaviors in many classes he has taken. I like the writing a cell phone number on the kids arm (but our phones did not work at WDW when we there last :rolleyes: ) but I would not have my kids wear name tags.

[kadiehl]

We bought a gross of the plastic bracelets from Oriental Trading Company, kind've like the ones you wear at the hospital. We then write cell phone numbers in permanent maker on them and have each kid wear it for the day.

They do this every year at my husband's company picnic, and I thought it was a good idea, so we use it ourselves for places like Disneyland.


I REALLY like this idea. My daughter would think she is dressing up and really like this too. My son would grin and bare it :)

[kadiehl]

Another piece of advice, in this day and age of digi cams...take a couple shots of each kid, a decent face shot and then a full length so that what they are wearing shows each morning before you head into the parks....that way IF you do 'lose' one you have a totally current pic of them and you can accurately describe what they were wearing (yeah you'd THINK you could do it from memory but you'd be amazed at how often you couldn't).....

COOL IDEA about the pics...my hubby will be changing cell phone companies this fall and getting one of those picture phones and we will definitely do this! I do not have a phone anymore because...I simply never used it.

[karliebug]

Have you seen those machines that make metal pet tags. They come in different shapes. You can get one made with your cell phone number and name and put them on your child's shoelaces. They look like charms, and no one can really read it from a distance, but your child could show it to a CM if they needed help.

[MommyTo3Boys1Girl]

Have you seen those machines that make metal pet tags. They come in different shapes. You can get one made with your cell phone number and name and put them on your child's shoelaces. They look like charms, and no one can really read it from a distance, but your child could show it to a CM if they needed help.


That is a GREAT idea! I think I will do that. They might lose their backpack, or the number might wash off their arm, but they shouldn't be without their shoes!

[Arnie]

Have you seen those machines that make metal pet tags. They come in different shapes. You can get one made with your cell phone number and name and put them on your child's shoelaces. They look like charms, and no one can really read it from a distance, but your child could show it to a CM if they needed help.

Hmmm, maybe those pet microchips would come in handy. Without the proper equipment noone can read them and they are not visible. Lookout Big Brother :eek:


Joking aside that's a good idea for keeping information needed in case of a mishap.

[magicpointeshoe]

I need to add a caution for everyone that has their child wear a name tag:

There is a different danger of having your childs name visable...we all tell our children not to talk to strangers, we all show them how to find a CM, both great tips for kids.
Okay I have two different thoughts on your reply.

1. Don't just blast the nametags especially considering many of the hats bought for kids in the disney parks come with embroidering their name on them for free.

2. "Protecting the Gift" by Gavin De Becker is an excellent resource of why teaching children "don't talk to strangers" is a really rotten way to protect our children.

[SummerinFL]

2. "Protecting the Gift" by Gavin De Becker is an excellent resource of why teaching children "don't talk to strangers" is a really rotten way to protect our children.


Why? I tell my daughter that certain people are okay but other strangers I tell her she shouldn't talk to them. It's how I was raised, I am not disputing it but I'm curious as to why not? :)

[munchkinsmom0003]

This is what we use for our kids:

http://www.kidtagz.com/

We don't have our children's names on the tag, but we have both DH and my cell numbers written on the tag. For my DD we also wrote that she has a peanut allergy. This tag is wonderful! It's small, doesn't come off easily and also can't be read unless you open the tab to the tag.

It's great!

[magicpointeshoe]

Why? I tell my daughter that certain people are okay but other strangers I tell her she shouldn't talk to them. It's how I was raised, I am not disputing it but I'm curious as to why not? :)
Because that's not how the world works. We interact constantly with people who are not in our small circle of trusted friends, and even the smallest of children have the skills of looking at who is around them, and then figuring out whether or not they should talk with that person. "Protecting the gift" really goes in depth about how to encourage the individual perceptions children have in being able to accurately choose the right person to help them in a crisis.

I really can't do the book justice in trying to convey the message very well, but I can say it is well worth the read!