Getting Lost

Practicalities Getting Organised Safety Getting Lost 

Getting lost is frightening for both the child and the parent, but if it does happen, having a pre-agreed game plan is essential.

Avoiding Getting Lost

The best way to avoid this is to make sure that you always have at least one adult bringing up the rear of the group. As the children don't always know where they are going this can make for slow progress if there is only one parent, but it's not as slow or as upsetting as getting lost.

In Addition

• It is a good idea before even setting out to agree on your family's rules of the road to avoid problems happening and what everyone should do if you do get separated. Who should they approach for help and where will you be to be contacted?



• If you are in a defined area like a theme park you can agree on a meeting place if you do lose each other, and possibly instruct children to ask an employee for help. Also mention that both you and the child can ask to use any public address system.



• Teach them that if they do lose you they should stay put. That way by retracing your own steps you should be able to find them again. Check the most life-threatening directions first (water, busiest street etc). Also work out when you last saw the child and how far he or she might have gone since then.



• Dressing children in at least one bright piece of clothing, say even just a hat, can help parents locate them in a crowd. Alternatively make sure that their backpack is really brightly coloured. Simply getting the child to shriek as loud as possible is a good one. It is a good idea to suggest that he or she yells your name as there may be a number of other mums or dads there.



• If this doesn't work it can be useful to explain an alternative strategy of walking into a nearby shop and telling a female assistant that they are lost.



• For younger children reins or wrist straps can be helpful although some children object to either and others children learn to remove the latter while parents are not looking.



• While it is not considered a good idea to put the child's name on the outside of their clothes, it might be useful to provide them with a kind of ID card inside their pack or possibly sewn into clothing. This could include a parent's name as well as the child's and possibly a phone number - ideally of a mobile phone you have with you. It may also be useful to give the child a card with the local holiday address - say a hotel business card - and if relevant telephone number of the property or a local rep. Alternatively you could get them to memorise a family friend's phone number which they can call. (They may know their home number but of course you won't be there to answer.) It can be very helpful to make sure every member of the party has their own pre-paid phone card for use in the local phones.



• Kid ID bands are available. There are also personal alarms children could be provided with to sound if they get into any kind of difficulty.



• It can be helpful to discuss the issue with the child or children and reassure them not to panic if they do get lost. It is also helpful to emphasise that being lost won't involve big trouble when they are found. Children have nearly died because worried about that, or even simply looking foolish.



• It is extremely helpful if children do go astray to have an accessible, good and up-to-date photograph of them. Bear in mind that whatever the stories in the news, harm to children is no more common that 100 years ago and the vast majority of lost children will be treated with great care.



• Make sure children know who it is best to approach if they do get lost. If they can't find anyone else a good suggestion is that they should go into a nearby shop or cafe and approach a female member of staff. However, especially abroad, it is helpful if the child can recognise police uniforms or those of resort security staff.



• If you are concerned, discuss the issues with the child. Motorway stops can feel particularly dangerous because of the ease of getaway, and you might prefer not to allow one child to go to the lavatory alone for example. Disappearing children in theme parks are not something the establishments concerned would like to publicise if it did happen but, without scaring the child or children you might like to offer at least the standard pointers on not taking food from or following strangers and if needing help, only approaching theme park staff.

If It Happens

• The obvious way to locate a lost child is to yell ‘I've lost my child', so all adults in the vicinity know what has happened and can help. If you don't speak the local language you need to find an adult who does who can pass on the information. Either way you need to tell people what the child looks like and what they are wearing.



• With older children you might like to provide a local phone card or even a mobile phone so they can ring someone if they do get lost. This of course not much use with a child who is liable to lose things. In this case miss out the mobile but think of sewing a relevant phone number somewhere it is less likely to go missing.

Getting Lost in the Great Outdoors

• If you are in a thinly populated area like much of the US a popular idea is to provide each child with a bin liner bag and a whistle or personal alarm [see above]. With a hole poked in the corner the child can place the bag over themselves to stay dry and relatively warm. The sound of a whistle will carry further than a voice and takes less effort. Specialist survival bags are available from outdoor boxes and along with a whistle and box of matches are light enough to be standard items in everyone's pack, and can make the difference between life and death.



• As in towns it is important for children not to move too far. The standard instruction is to hug a tree - and even talk to it as this can help calm panic. Staying in one place makes the child easier to locate and minimises the likelihood of injury, especially if it gets dark. If you are on a moor you might like to suggest substituting a rock if there aren't too many trees.



• In real wilderness areas it can be helpful to ‘footprint' everyone in the party before you leave the car, say on a piece of aluminium foil on a soft surface such as a folded towel. Failing that wet sand or mud might be useful but is likely to be trampled over or lost in bad weather.



• Explain the dangers of wandering off alone and particularly in the UK the likelihood of the weather suddenly turning nasty. You can also explain about rescue services and how to help them locate anyone who is lost. Making yourself big, say by lying on the ground, can be helpful. So can making crosses in rocks or broken branches if the child has the energy.



• It is useful to point out that if there is a noise at night it is best to yell at it. If it is an animal it will go. If it is a searcher they will be able to find the lost child more easily.



• To prevent getting lost in the first place, when you set out note a prominent landmark and get children used to taking a note of the direction of the sun - when visible.

Back-Up

Child Safe Zones

A scheme to help parents find lost children quickly and easily for a registration fee of £10 per family per year.
On signing up to the scheme parents are given family ID tags for children giving contact details for the adults, plus a family ID card for parents to carry in their wallet.
In addition families can register their children's details on-line, including family contact telephone numbers, a passport style photograph, description of the child and any appropriate medical information.
Parents then manage their own secure details, using a unique family ID and password and can access, or authorise access, at home or on holiday.
If a child goes missing, whther in the UK or abroad, a phone call to the Child Safe Zones call centre (operated 24/7) can authorise the child's photograph or contact details to be forwarded, or a missing poster to be created in a matter of minutes and e-mailed or faxed straight to the relevant authorities or viewed on-line to help find the child quickly. In addition the poster can also be automatically translated into languages appropriate to popular family holiday destinations.

IdentiKids
PO Box 73, Manchester, M26 1WZ
tel: 0845 1259539

Sells single use and reusable wristbands, and talking wristbands to be used for child identification should your child get lost.