This is a scene you wouldn’t want to happen. You’re walking leisurely in a mall. You turn around and your kid is gone. You look around, hoping your kid is just nearby. You start yelling out your kid’s name, no response.
Suddenly, you’re getting that nervous feeling in your tummy. You’re panicking. You start running, hoping you kid is just hiding from you. You’re hoping your kid is going to pop up to scare you off your wits.
Unfortunately, your kid is nowhere to be seen. Just the same, you’re starting to get scared out of your wits. This is a nightmare you would never want to go through.
Losing your kid in a crowded place such as mall, a theme park, or a public park is enough to kill you. You’ll feel totally stupid and there’s just no one to blame but you.
How can you have taken your eyes off your kid? What kind of parent would do that?
Parents are just human. It doesn’t take a bad parent to lose a kid in the mall. It can happen to any parent. To avoid this nightmare, you need to teach your kids these 5 crucial things.
Here are the 5 crucial things every kid should know about in case they get lost.
1. Know your parent’s name and phone number. If you ask most kids under 3 what their parents names are, they’ll tell you, “Mama” or “Daddy.” That won’t cut it when a kind stranger is trying to get information out of a panicked kid. Ask them, tell them, and practice your names over and over so they remember them. Make learning your phone numbers easier by turning them into songs.
2. Stay close to your safe adult. The rule is: if you can see them, they can see you. This goes a long way in preventing children getting lost.
3. If you get lost, stop where you are and yell. Kids aren’t often allowed to really yell as loud as possible but this is exactly what they need to do. Let them practice this. Have them yell your name or “mom/dad” over and over. Let them know that being loud will help you hear where they are.
4. Look for a mom with kids and ask for help. This is where it helps to know your name and phone number because you want that mom to try to call you. Why should they look for a mom with kids and not a dad with kids? We asked the same question of safety experts. It’s because statistically, this is the safest option. If the child is in a store, they can also ask a person at the cash register for help.
5. Know that you will be found. Being lost is a common childhood event and almost all the kids who go lost are found (and we won’t talk about the few who aren’t). Kids should be told: don’t hide because you’re scared. Don’t go searching the area. And certainly don’t leave the area (aka – don’t leave a store to wander the parking structure). Take a deep breath and remember your safety steps.
Teaching these 5 crucial steps entails a lot of role-playing as well. It’s not enough to tell your kids these 5 crucial steps. Your kids will have a better grasp of everything if you do an actual role-play with them. Practice at home. Simulate an actual situation so that they can understand the seriousness of the matter.
It’s also a good idea to have your kid memorize the 5 crucial things. You can come up with an acronym like KKLIS (Know your parent’s name, Know you’ll be found, Look for a mom with kids, If lost, stop and yell, and Stay close safe to an adult). An acronym can make it easier for your kid to remember the five crucial things.
It’s better to start teaching your kids these 5 crucial things at the soonest time possible. If it’s nerve wrecking for you to think of such horrible scenario, you just can’t imagine the sheer torment of actually experiencing it. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Equip your kid with safety tools as early as now.
When it comes to protecting your kid, you can never do enough. It actually is better to overdo things when it comes to your kid’s safety. You can learn more about the 5 crucial things from an article written by Abbie Schiller.
Do you think these 5 crucial things can lessen the chances of losing your kid in a crowd?
