How To Keep Track Of Your Children At Indoor Attractions
Losing a child is a great fear of a parent. This article will directly address how to keep track of your children in buildings.
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There is much excitement when camping and entering the gift store or nature center. Within steps of entering a building your children may zip off in all directions, while you stand holding their jacket beginning to utter the word … waaaaiiit.
How to avoid this?
Plan
Set up a plan before entering a building. Create a buddy system. Pair children and/or pair children with mom/dad.
How to avoid the buddy system melt down
Buddy system melt down happens when the buddies do nothing but argue about where to go and then both stomp off in different directions.
To avoid buddy system melt down have the buddies or you say who gets to decide first where to go. Next explain that you will check in with them after some time and that is when they will switch.
More to the Plan besides having a buddy
Determine a meeting spot in the building in case you get separated. Choose one spot in the building that everyone knows where to go if you get lost.
This can be taken one step further as to where to meet if some disaster happens to the building and immediate evacuation and you are separated.
Next decide on a time to meet up at the meeting spot. If your children don’t have a watch or know how to tell time or ask then they probably shouldn’t be left to themselves to wonder a building. Explain as well that they are to wait and not leave the meeting spot until everyone arrives.
When you enter a building/room as a parent you must immediately scan the building and look for possible ways your child could wonder out or be taken out of the building. Next determine where the key spot to stand to see all the doors to take periodic checks or in the event you get scared they are gone.
Note: I became trained at doing this when I would take 25 or more 4th graders on field trips and have to be accountable for all.
Once you have a plan: buddy system, meeting spot, and time to meet it is time to practice.
Do you your children know what to do if someone grabs them? Check out this informative article: How To Respond Decisively And Effectively If Someone Grabs You
Practice
Practice at home before going on a trip how to do this. Have fun with this. Why not all dress up as inspectors with notes to take. The notes would be on what three items in your house you would grab to save if a typhoon was coming. Before beginning explain this is practice and why.
Do all the same as you will in the future at a building: buddy system and who decides first what to do and how the switch will happen, establish meeting spot, and decide on a time to meet. Then practice having fun in your house.
Implement & Fine Tune your Plan
Upon arrival to the museum or wherever your children will have a better idea what to do.
Evaluate your plan after each visit and make any changes you need to.
- How did everyone do in getting back on time?
- How buddy system worked?
- Could there be a better buddy than the one they had?
- Should you switch who’s leading sooner or later or give more directions for buddies?
- Everybody made it to the meeting spot ok?
With these tips you will be better equipped to enter a building and not fear losing your children.
