Dog Tag ID

We took the kids to a  crowded amusement park last week.  While we were walking around  I spied a little girl wearing a heart-shaped dog tag.  It was looped through the button hole on her shirt.  At first I thought it was odd, but after mulling it over I have decided it was a pretty brilliant idea.  As vigilant as you are with your kids sometimes things happen.

I am reminded of  a story from my childhood.  When my little sister was about 3 or 4-years-old she wondered off  in a department store.  Security found her and asked her what her name was.  I don't know if she was shy, scared, or both, but she gave them the wrong name.

Dog tags are pretty cheap and easy to come by.  In fact, most chain pet supply stores have machines that can make a dog tag in a matter of minutes.  They have enough room for important information like a name and a cell phone number.

No, I haven't made dog tags for my kids yet, but I might.

The coincidence is pretty funny, we were on vacation last week in DC and while in the grocery store grabbing some snacks saw one of those dog tag machines. It seemed like a good idea, so we had a tag made with our 4 y/o son's name and our google voice number (that rings both cell phones) on it. We had to make three more... one for each of us and one for his stuffed animal, before he would wear his, but wear it he did.
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I think this would be totally cute on a bracelet (my ID/allergy alert bracelet as a kid was ugly). As long as the name isn't prominently displayed, like it would be on a hat or shirt, I don't think it runs much of a risk of helping out an abductor.
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And they have a bunch of cute dog tags now. Our petco has Disney princess and Cars dog tags.

Ooh! Military dog tags would work too.

Ive also thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of Mom and Dad that day and have her keep it on her (obviously only for big stuff like amusement parks, not for running out to the store). When I was a kid I got lost at Cedar Point, and I couldn't remember what my mom was wearing, or even her hair color (in my defence, she did change it a lot!) Once we were reunited, we realized that she had someone looking for me, and I had someone looking for her, and they never thought to cross paths because I told them my mom was blonde (and she had just dyed her hair red).
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A sharpie works well, too, and they can't take it off (easily).

Again, we are talking about a situation where the child is lost and has been found by an adult who is interested in getting the child back to their parents.

You can also get customized (really customized) "Live Strong" bracelets.

I like the dog tags and sharpies best.
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