Kid Scoop
How to Prepare Your Child for Getting Lost
After writing about taking Addie to downtown Indianapolis during the Super Bowl, I was contacted by a local hospital about keeping kids safe as you head into crowded places. Super Bowl aside, we take our kids out in public all the time. Some places are more crowded than others, but the panic that comes over a parent when they don’t see their child is the same in a crowd of 100 or a crowd of 100,000.
Three years ago we were at Disney World when a woman’s son went missing. She was hysterical but thankfully Disney had a very thorough method for finding lost children. Watching her was heartbreaking and I did my best to console her, and in the end her seven year old son came back smiling as if nothing had ever happened. (I have a feeling she wanted to both strangle and smother him with love all at once.)
The good news is that there are easy ways to instill confidence in your child in case they do go missing without freaking them out about stranger danger.
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7 Comments
Ami commented on Jan 26 12 at 4:40 pmGood information lady.
Kacee commented on Jan 28 12 at 2:02 amThis is fantastic information, thanks so much!!
Lisa S. commented on Feb 03 12 at 12:43 pmMy 4 year-old son got lost at my daughter’s soccer game once, after the game ended. I was helping my daughter pack up, hubby was packing up our folding chairs. I thought my son was with the hubby, hubby thought son was with me, and by the time we realized he wasn’t with either one at least five minutes had passed, maybe 10, and he was NOWHERE to be seen. What helped was trying to think like my son. He knew we were getting ready to leave, and he has a great sense of direction and a good memory, so logic told me he probably headed for our car… on the far side of a large, busy parking lot. EEK. I went toward our car as fast as my very pregnant body would carry me and about halfway to the car, found another dad carrying my son back to the fields. “He looked a little out of place without a grownup with him.” Uh, yeah. I may have had a series of a half-dozen heart attacks in about five minutes that day. I love the idea of the cell phone number on a piece of tape, I may start doing that!
Cheria commented on Feb 03 12 at 12:44 pmYour never too precautious! Thank you for those tips!
autum commented on Feb 03 12 at 1:05 pmmy kids know what my name is so if we are shoping and get lost, they will know what name to announce on the loudspeaker
Hovawart commented on Feb 03 12 at 1:30 pmCannot find the rest of the article, or figure out how to find it.
Samira commented on Feb 03 12 at 6:16 pmgreat tips wal mart is good at finding kids they train us on what to do and as long as you show your children go to someone in a blue shirt with a name badge you should be alright many of us have walkies and there is a designated service desk too and if you tell someone your child is missing they lock all the doors and place guards so no one can leave with them i think all sporting events the fair and any store or place with a crowd at any given time should have a system like this
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Mandy Cheney 
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