Don’t Lose Them
20 March 2008
We know too well how easy it is to lose sight of your child in strange surroundings and the fear and panic that brings. Here we look at tips on keeping your children safe whilst you are away, so that you can all enjoy your time away.
The following is aimed to advise you and not to alarm you. We hope you can all enjoy your new adventures and make the most of your surroundings.
Prevention is always best
Firstly decide before you leave for the airport and on every outing who will be responsible for each child and who will be responsible for other things eg the luggage. This reduces the chances of Everybody thinking Somebody was taking care of the child when in fact it was Nobody.Toddlers ought to wear a harness or reigns and older children should be encouraged to hold on to an adult’s hand. You can also provide ID bracelets for your children to wear. These need you to simply add your contact details eg mobile phone number, your accomodation details etc and can either be reusable or disposable.
The Safe Child Scheme was launched in the historic market town of Shrewsbury, in December 1993. Since then, the average time a lost child has been separated from his or her family has been dramatically reduced from 15 minutes to less than 5 minutes.
If you are a parent or guardian
- Inside a store, enquire at the nearest till or checkout point.
- In a shopping centre or street, enquire at the tills or checkouts of the nearest store.
- Listen carefully to any public address announcement.
- In a shopping centre, alert the centre’s security staff.
- Enquire at the nearest Police Station.
If you are little and lost
These simple instructions can be easily followed by your children, and are entirely compatible with the advice for staff and parents. Teach them to your child, for both your sakes.
The moment you realise you are lost, you should…
- Stop - stand still and look around. But do not run around.
- If you see the person you are shopping with, go straight back to them and hold their hand.
- If you cannot see the person you are with, go straight to a till or checkout and tell the person working there that you are lost.
- If you get lost in a shopping centre or street, go into the nearest shop and straight to a till or checkout.
Do not approach anyone else.
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