Parenthood can be a tremendous challenge, whether you’re dealing with bullies at school or the onset of puberty. One of the biggest struggles parents face is keeping their kids safe, especially when they’re out in public. Since you can’t keep them home indefinitely, it’s best to prepare for this ahead of time. Here are some safety strategies you can use to ensure your kids’ safety at large public events.
Bright Clothes
First of all, dress your kids in bright colors that are easily seen from a distance. Remember that from far away, it can be hard to distinguish darker colors from one another. If you’re looking into a crowd where everyone is wearing dark colors, nothing is going to jump out at you. Bright neon colors or tie-dyed t-shirts are easy to spot from far away.
Temporary Tattoos
Temporary tattoos allow you to print customizable information onto your child’s arms. You can easily create one with a contact number where you can be reached in the event that your child is lost. A simpler method would be to simply write your contact information onto the child’s arm and coat it with liquid bandage spray.
Photos
One of the simplest things to do is take a photo of them before they leave for the event. This way, the photo shows them wearing the same clothing and sporting the same hairstyle. Even after the event, the photo will be recent enough to use for some time, in the event that it’s needed again.
Your Phone Number
Make sure the child knows your phone number. If they’re old enough to recite the alphabet, they should be able to recite a memorized phone number. They need to be able to give it to a safety officer that can get in touch with you in an emergency.
Identify Employees
The first thing to do when you arrive at an event is to identify employees, lifeguards or security officers by their uniforms. Point out the radio on the security guard’s belt, the lifeguard’s whistle and the typical uniform with name tag worn by common employees. Then quiz the child by having them point out the employees in the crowd. Don’t forget to show them customer service desks where they can always find employees and landmarks they can use as points of reference.
Ticket Stubs
If you’re attending a large event, such as a football game in Los Angeles, be sure to give your child the stub from one of those Rams tickets to keep in their pocket. Most employees will happily show them back to their seats if they get lost.
Keeping your kids safe in large crowds comes down to having a solid plan. That plan should include a series of different strategies, such as the ones above. It’s hard to go wrong when your child is wearing bright-colored clothes, has contact information on his arm, a ticket in his pocket and knows who to approach for help. If your child knows what to do and you’ve gone over the plan with him several times, he’ll be less likely to panic.
Hannah Wheeler is a new Mom who has worked in the travel and events industry for many years. She enjoys writing travel articles, and is now turning her hand to writing articles which are more geared towards traveling with kids.