in case child is lost in park ID?

[mattandmandy]

First off, sorry if this is posted in wrong area ....

I would like to make up some sort of ID card for my toddler to have in his pockets JUST IN CASE he were to get lost.

I'm sure some of yall have done this. What should I put on the card? Childs first and last name? First name only? Our cell phone numbers? I don't want to put too much information but want to put enough.

Ideas?

[Boojum]

We went to Pet Smart and got an ID tag engraved with her name/our names/our cell phone number(s).

Example: Anna
Joe and Sue Hamilton
(555) 555-5555



We then had her wear the tag on her shoestring. Each time we'd go to a park, we'd show her a Castmember and what their nametags looked like. Told her that if she was lost, she should go to a Castmember and show him/her the shoe tag. (The Castmembers were really sweet about letting us use them as examples, by the way--talking to her and making her feel very secure)

We thought this was a good idea because:

*The tag was small enough that no stranger could read it and pretend to know her name.

*It wouldn't fall out of her pocket or off her shirt like an ID sticker might.

*Even if it got wet, nothing was damaged.

*We allowed her to pick the tag--she thought it was cool to select it and then watch the machine carve it.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and may I add that you're being a very conscientious parent!

[GrumpyFan]

Here is another thread discussing ideas for safeguarding your kids while in the parks.

http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=143615

[DisneyLuvRSince76]

When we took DS, he was only 2 and did not talk, so I got him the 'Who's Shoes ID'. It's pretty cool and we got a lot of compliments on it. I just put my cell phone number in it - nothing else.

[Disney Lynn]

Definitely put your cell phone number(s) on whatever you use. Just remember that the CMs are not allowed to search your child for any "tags"; your child must understand that he must give the tag to the CM (if it's in a pocket or other non-visible place). A young child might be too upset to understand this.

GrumpyFan: Thanks for posting that link- the other thread has some great ideas.

[DisneyMiMi]

I'm going next Jan and in preparing for the trip I found this site for temporary tatoos. http://www.mypreciouskid.com/temporary-tattoos.html. My granddaughter loves tatoos and you can write your name and cell phone on the tatoo with a pen that comes with them. There are different designs to choose from and they say it all washes off pretty easily. you might like that and the child could just present his/her arm to the cast member.

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

we put a sticker on the back of my daughter's t-shirts with "Mom's cell" and the number on it.

That way a CM can see it and call but doesnt have to touch them if they get lost.

[Buttercup]

If you do a google search for "ID Inside" you'll find really great waterproof velcro bracelets where the kid's information is hidden inside.
That's what we use for our kids.

[BigRedDad]

I have always been told that children never get lost at WDW. I was told it was the parents that got lost. Regardless, it has to be a terrifying feeling and it happens there every day. Many threads discuss how CM's are trained to notice lost children. They stay with the child in that location and put a call out to their network that they have located a lost child. After some period of time, I think they take the child to some facility while they do what they can to track down the parents or guardians.

Since the CMs cannot search your child for an ID and if they are truly lost, they will be less than accommodating to provide information at that point any way. Therefore, get something that is completely visible to a CM.

[wire0monkey]

We use the engraved dogtags from Petsmart, but rather than putting it in the kids' pockets, I use a safety pin and pin it to the bottom of their tshirts.

It's too small and too far away to read if you're just walking past the kid, but it's clearly visible to anyone who is looking for a name tag.

[wire0monkey]

I've also just taken a sharpie marker with me and written "Mom's #" and my cell phone number on on one arm for each kid.

Don't forget to take a cell phone charger.

[momofaprincess]

We just returned from WDW and while we were at MNSSHP on Oct 16 a man kept running by us while in the line for Snow White asking if we had seen his little girl. Apparently she had been lost for 20 minutes and both parents were running separately from each other all over the park and weren't even sure when or where they had lost her. We found our later that she was safe with a photopass photographer but they were having trouble finding the parents because they were still running in all directions. We had told our kids to find a CM and even had a CM show them what a tag looked like in case they got lost. The CM said that only parents get lost which was proven that night at the party. The best thing would be to show them how to spot a CM and make sure they know parents' names and if possible a cell #.

[CU Tiger]

We use the hospital style bracelet. This is hard to be removed and allows us to write our cell phone number and where we are staying on them.

[irish1967]

Most recently, we have used military style dog-tags. We put their first name on the tag and then appropriate cell numbers.

They were inexpensive, came fast (within a week) and are waterproof and my boys think they are cool so they wear them without complaint.

We have actually ordered extra tags for when another contact number is appropriate. Their main tags are:

Child's first name
Mom (cell #)
Dad (cell #)

They have an extra tag with my brother and his wife's cell #s from a visit to Washington D.C. this summer and then one with Grandpa's cell # as they spend a lot of time with my dad.