Whenever I go to public events with my four children, I always panic just a little bit in the lead up to the day. I wonder about how many people are going to be there, and I fret about the fact that I have four boys and they’re each more excitable than the next. Not to say that they aren’t good kids - they’re great kids, in fact - it’s just that when you’re in a crowded place and you lose sight of one of them and they’re swallowed up by the crowd, you feel like you’ve lost a limb and you don’t know how to get it back. It is, in a word, terrifying. When I invested in a gps tracking device for kids, I will say that attending events like Christmas parades or Carols by Candlelight suddenly became a whole lot less nerve-wracking. Not to mention going to things like the Easter Show! That was a picnic compared to years past when I would bite my nails down to the quick!
No matter whether you have a tracker or not, you need to keep your kids safe in a crowd. If you get separated, do you have an action plan? You need to know how to keep your kids safe in a crowded place - so let’s take a look here.
Have an action plan and make sure you kids know what it is
Without freaking your kids out, speak to them about what they need to do if they get split up from you at a big event. Depending on the age of your kids, the steps might include things like finding a Police Station or Lost Kids Centre and speaking to them. You might even tell them to go up to a mother with kids and speak to her if they’re really worried. One of my boys would always start crying if he even lost sight of me for a minute, so I know he probably wouldn’t even make it to the police! Make sure they know what to do.
Have your details on your kids
You need to get some wristbands for your kids which have your contact details on them. That way if anyone does find your kids, they can simply call you and get in contact with you that way. You can even add things like relevant allergies and other pertinent information. You can use these wrist bands over and over again and they’re great for keeping everyone in line.
Teach your kids about safety
No matter what you do to prepare for a big and crowded event - there’s nothing you can do about the potential of being separated. In order to prepare your kids for it, you need to speak to them about stranger danger and about safety. If your kids know what they need to be on the lookout for, they’ll be much less likely to be preyed on by strangers or people and will be more likely to stay safe.
Take a picture
If you have a picture on your phone of your kids (which, let’s face it - of course you do) you can use it to identify them to police or anyone who has a picture of them. You can send a picture through to people to verify that it’s your child.
Be prepared
If you know that you have a child who loves to cut and run, consider leashing them up for the event. That way, you aren’t going to run the risk of spending the entire time freaking out and searching for your child instead of enjoying it with them.
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