Do you make your small child carry ID?

[shelby]

We are gong to Disney World before our three day cruise to Nassau. Have you veteran travelers made your children carry ID? My older kids could relay info to anyone but my 5 year old knows the regular info like phone, address, names..but i don't think i could teach her our cabin #, etc. I was thinking of something like a hospital band or necklace that she can't lose.
i thought this would also make me feel better if God forbid we get separated in Nassau.then time wouldn't be lost trying to decide what Cruise ship she was affiliated with etc.

Any ideas?

[swimmersonboard]

Oohhh, Even the thought gives me chills. God forbid is right!!! I make these diaper bag tags that have the plastic things you wrap around the straps of the diaper bag. You could make one and put it on her arm. (that way you can take it off when you want) a hosptial tag would not last very long, especially with swimming.
I bought those little necklace bag things that hold your ID and cards in it for each of my kids on our last cruise and those worked great.

[CamperMom]

Darlin' don't give your child their cabin card. Just don't. It's one less headache for you. Start months before with prompting your child to remember the room number. Next, Use the white medical tape and place a small strip on the inside of their shirt hem at the waist with a cabin number and your name and number. If you have a beeper number from the children's program, you should put that on it as well. Cabin #7220, Advent. Seas program Beeper #302. Call Mary or John Doe. that way, if you kids get lost or wander (they don't do that, do they?! ) and they can't remember their info, they can just direct someone to the strip on the inside of their clothes. Plus, writing it out and placing it there each day reminds your child that it's there.

CamperMom

[CamperMom]

Oops. Be sure to add the cruise ship as well if your child gets "temporarily misplaced" while ashore!!

CamperMom

[Moses Family]

When we take Emma to Disney (which is very often), we always prepare by writing our cell phone numbers as well as my sister's home number (in case there is any trouble with communication in the area) on a piece of fabric with a permanent marker and pinning it with a safety pin to the inside of her sock. Does that make sense? We use the fabric because it's more comfortable than paper. We use the sock area because she is trained to not let anyone she is not comfortable with touch her in any area that is covered by shorts an tshirts.

I used to think it was a good idea to tell her to walk up to someone in uniform when she was lost. But she can't really distinguish between a valid police officer and, say, a McDonald's employee in uniform. So, now, we tell her to find a group of mothers with children her age. I know that doesn't guaruntee anything, but it seems unlikely that a mother with a bunch of kids would bother to kidnap mine! (I know - exceptions to every rule...)

So - thanks for the reminder to make some fabric tags before we leave on our cruise on Saturday!

[Sherry V]

Hi! I found the greatest product for my daughter. It is the ID-on-me identification bracelet. It is a watertight compartment where you insert a folded up sheet that includes whatever information you want to: Name, phone, ship, cell phone, grandma's phone, medical info, etc. You can change the info for each trip and include just about any info you need to. I got them in a grocery store for about $3.00 and it has been great. My daughter thinks it's a watch so she loves to wear it. They come in a variety of colors and the information is only accessible if you take the bracelet completely off. Especially good if your child has a medical condition that they wouldn't really be able to explain. Can even be used for adults with dementia! Check into it!

[scout leader]

I love the idea of the product Sherry discribed but if you cannot find it http://www.orientaltrading.com sells wrist braclets that you can write your cell phone # and cruise ship on with perm. marker. They come in a pack of 100 so I also put a few an all my luggage because they are bright and easy to recognize.

I use then for Girl Scout bus trips and the girls swim in them and wear them for days (I ran into one girl 2 weeks later and she still had hers on).

One safty tip = never put her/his name in view.

[Carlalena1]

Just whatever you do, don't put her name on the outside of her clothes. I can't believe how many people put their child's name on their backpack, or even as a decoration on their T shirt. Potential kidnappers or even run of the mill psychos can then call the child by name. It gives ME chills to think of how anyone could have come up to any of my sons and said he knew Thomas the Tank Engine, and the child would have gone willingly. If someone came up to even my 11 year old and said "Joe Smith, your Mom said to meet her here" I have no doubt that he would follow the guy.

I work in this field and I will just say that nothing beats parental supervision. Kids can not be relied on to remember cabin numbers. Keep in mind that the child will be under stress and probably just have spent many minutes looking at cabin numbers...

I like the sock idea but it seems a little too over the top for me to follow through with to be quite honest. I just give my kids my business cards to put in their pockets and make them buddy up. I always count heads, literally non stop.

Tell the child that if anyone tries to take her, yell "FIRE!" Yelling "Mommy" or "Daddy" won't work as she will look like she is fighting with a parent.

On this cruise (8/14/05) I think I am going to leave my 7 year old on board the whole time. That way I can enjoy my time with my 13, 15 and 11 year olds without having to stress about the little one!

[Oggy Boy]

Yelling "Fire" is GREAT advice. When people hear "help me" or any other plea for help, they tend to go the other way. However, if someone is yelling fire they tend to get involved so they can see it. This is also an excellent self defense ploy. I guarantee you that if someone yells "Fire" on a ship they will get immediate attention and lots of it.

Tom

[shelby]

We didn't have an problems without id on her after all. On the ship she was with me or hubby the whole time and I was really surprised how not crowded it seemed all the time. it was less busy then most hotels I've stayed at. The teen age boys we let have the run of the place..ewith stern warnings about the rails.... They told us what they were planning and we always set times to meet back. When we went to port we went on a van tour and then to the beach so no problem there either...we didn't go to the straw market so it went really well supervision wise.

thanks for the ideas though.