Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Shirt Labels for Disneyland

I am a paranoid mom.  Very Paranoid.  I have an innate ability to see the death/kidnapping/bad side to any and every situation.  I have not (yet) lost my son, but it is something I always worry about.  When we are out, we might as well be strapped together with velcro, since I am scared to death that someone is going to try to take him.

Enter, Disneyland.  We are getting ready to take another trip there, and it is a prime situation in which to lose your child.  The good thing is that the folks at Disney are experts at dealing with lost children.  Look around the next time you go.  A child will be crying, with that bewildered look in his/her eyes, and within seconds several cast members appear out of thin air.  It is like magic.  When they rescue said child, they take them to a Lost Child center where coloring books, crayons, and other fun things await them until their frantic mother arrives to collect them. 

I remember being at Disneyland last year.  All week it was slow, not crowded, and I kept my son tightly in my grip.  Then came Friday night, and it was packed.  Travel lanes were restricted due to Fantasmic, and there were swarms of people EVERYWHERE.  If my son's hand had slipped my grasp for a second, I honestly don't think I could have found him one second later.  It was that crazy.  He probably still has marks in his hand from my nails digging in to him.

So this is what I do to ease my mind.  I print labels with his name and my phone number, and stick them to his shirt underneath his sleeve (kind of the armpit area).  This is a cheaper option than the rubber wristbands that you can order, and easier in my opinion.  You simply print out a sheet of labels before you go - I used the Avery Clear Labels #18660

Each day you are in the park, just slap one of those labels on your child's shirt.
The sticker goes on the outside of the shirt just under the armpit

  I also made sure my son understood that it was there, so if he did get lost he could tell the cast member that found him.  I have also heard that Disney cast members know to look for the label, but I am not sure if that is true or not.  Knowing Disney, it probably is true. 

A side note to the person who will inevitably comment that if you lose your child you shouldn't be a parent:  I used to think that way as well, and no, I have never lost my child.  But it is not outside the realm of possibility, and you can never be too careful.

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