I shared this picture on my Facebook page in Oct last year and received lots of responses on this and decided to re-share the picture again (since I have gained lots of new followers since then)
I'm constantly checking to make sure our kiddos are next to us but to respond to the advice from the above picture, I personally would teach our kiddos to look for uniformed staff (guards, police etc) or staff (salespeople, cashier, reception counter staff etc) who are working at the place we go to. At least these people are (hopefully!) regularly being seen at the venues, more permanent visibility compared to total random strangers.
I'm not saying we should not trust strangers who are mums with kiddos, but these days, it is really hard to tell and don't know who to trust. There are kidnappers using kiddos to lure other innocent children too.
From time to time during any of our family outing, I would also quietly do a quick drill with our 6 year old where I will asked him what he is going to do if he got separated from us and was lost in this place. Just to test whether he remembered what to do. So far, so good.
From the responses shared, I also learned a few new tips which are:
-
"Predators target the quiet, unassuming child that no one will notice or remember. Please teach your children that if you are separated do not go looking for you. Stay where you are. Stay out in the open. And be loud. If a stranger asks you to leave that spot, teach your child to say: please stay with me until mommy finds me. A good adult will do that. A safe adult will respect that. If the adult makes you leave that spot: yell. Puke or pee if you can. Studies show that predators will usually flee if a child pees or pukes. And sometimes people we know aren't safe and there is no age to that: the predator could be a teen or pre-teen. Have safewords/secret passwords. Teach your children that if a person does not use your secret safeword then it's not safe to go with them. And please instill in your child(ren) they are always safe because they are smart and they know how to be safe." ~ Christine Rossini
Just a few days after that, I came across this article which I must definitely share with you guys as I feel we could all learn from this. For your convenience, I have copied some of the excerpts from the article here:
"Do your kids know what to do if they get separated from you in a mass of people? Have you sat down and talked about it (or, even better, role-played it) with them? If it’s starting to dawn on you that you may have been slacking a little in this area, don’t worry. We’ve got all the information you need to keep your kids safe and happy on your next big family outing.
Here are our top 5 things to teach your child before entering big crowds:
1. How Far They Can Go — It’s important to talk with your children about how close you expect them to stay to you before you start your adventure. For young children, you might want to establish a rule of always holding a parent’s hand or always having one hand on the stroller, if you have younger children that you’re also pushing around. For older kids, you may be comfortable with a “I can always see you and you can always see me” rule. Use your judgment, but make sure that everyone understands the expectation before you get to the crowds.
2. To Freeze and Yell Your Real Name — Teach your children that you will find them, so it’s best if they stay put in one place. Furthermore, teach them to call out your full name instead of “Mommy” or “Daddy” to help you more easily locate them.
3. How to Identify a “Safe Person” — Make sure your children know the best people to approach should they get separated from you. Employees working at the spot you’re visiting are generally always good, “safe people.” But what about places that may not have employees, like the beach? Teach your children to look for a mom with kids. Experts say that moms are often the most willing and best-equipped people to help kids (plus kids often feel more comfortable asking for help from moms). It’s also a great idea to practice finding a “safe person” when you’re out running daily errands with your children. Turn it into a game when you visit the grocery store, library, or the bank — and get your children in the habit of automatically identifying the safe people in their environment.
4. What to Say — It can be hard for would-be-helpful adults to assist your child if they don’t know that your little one is lost. Remember that if your child does get separated from you, she will likely be panicking, so don’t assume that she will know how to tell a stranger that she is lost. Role-play getting lost and using simple sentences like, “I am lost” with your kids to help them know what to do if it actually happens.
5. Their Personal Information — Make sure your children know as much basic personal information as possible, including their full names, their parents’ full names, your telephone number and their address. If your kids are too young to remember the basics like their full names and your telephone number, write it down! There are lots of popular techniques for this — including writing your name and number on a piece of paper that you can put inside a child’s pocket or shoe, or even writing directly on your child’s arm or belly under his clothes with a marker."
Do share your thoughts or personal tips on this!
** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.
