What To Do When Your Child Is Lost

by Marian Nguyen, RN, BSN | Apr 8, 2019 | Family Safety and Preparedness, General Preparedness, Personal Safety, Safety & First Aid

Children are natural-born explorers. They love going out on their own so they can experience the world and have adventures.

But, many parents are faced with the nightmare of what happens when your child wanders off and gets lost. It’s a scary situation that no parent wants to think about, but you do need a plan in place if it happens.

Here are things you can do to prevent your child getting lost:

Be Proactive

First, realize your child can wander off and get lost almost anywhere at any time, so you need to be prepared and proactive. Have a conversation early on with your child about what to do if they get lost.

Important Numbers

Make it a game for your child to memorize your cell phone number. Give them a copy of the number as they may not be thinking clearly if they’re panicked. This can be on an ID bracelet or a personalized “dog tag” they carry with them.

What To Do If Your Child Gets Lost:

Dress your child in bright clothes

If a child is lost and they’re wearing something bold, they’re much be easier to spot. Take a picture of your child before you go out to the park or the mall so you’ll have a picture of exactly what they look like. This way, if he or she gets lost, you can share this photo easily with security guards who can be on the lookout for them.

Designate a meeting spot

If you’re going someplace that’s especially crowded, like a theme park or shopping mall, explain to your child that they should look for you at a designated spot. This should be someplace easy to find like the main entrance or at a specific ride or store.

That way, if they get lost, they can find you quickly and easily. If you don’t have a designated meeting spot, tell them, instead, to not move at all. Explain that once you realize they’re missing, you’ll instantly start looking for them. If they’re looking for you while you look for them, you could end up chasing each other for hours. If they stay in one place, they’ll be easier to find.

Stay calm

This sounds impossible, but no good is going to come from being frantic and terrified. Try to keep a level head so you can rationally search for your child.

Teach your child about “safe people.”

If you aren’t there within a few minutes, have your child let an adult know that they’re lost. Have them look for a security guard or a store employee with a name tag. These people can do a better job of helping to reunite you with your child than the average person off the street.

Imagine walking through the mall with your child only to turn around and not see them there. Terrifying, right? By preparing ahead of time, you and your children know what to do in this event and you’ll quickly reunited!

Be Prepared for the Unexpected!

A child can go missing in the blink of an eye. If that happens, I know you want to be as calm and as prepared as possible to locate and reunite with your missing child. Let us help you do that by sending you a FREE Child Safety Identification Kit. You can get your FREE kit by clicking here.  

Bumps, bruises and owies – oh my! Parenthood is never boring. Be prepared with a first aid kit designed exclusively with you and your kids in mind.  Check out PreparaKit.com for kits and tools created for busy parents who want to be ready for the unexpected.