When a toddler wanders off

By Heather

Have you ever been in the middle of a busy park with your toddler? Have you ever been just a little too caught up in adult conversation to notice your toddler wander off? If so, I bet it was an experience that you never forgot.

Just this week, I listened as two different friends recounted their “scariest parenting moment” as the time when their two year-old wandered off into a busy park alone.

One in Brooklyn.

One in London.

In each case, the child was curious and wandered off after something (the boy wondered what was beyond the hill; the girl wondered where her Daddy had gone).

Both families were lucky and had happy endings. In each case, a large group of concerned friends was on hand to search for the meandering toddler. Each miniature search party radiated outward from the picnic toward the outer reaches of the park, asking fellow park-goers for help and information.

The safety tips I offer are in the name of keeping track of your child and finding your child.

1. Know who’s on duty. Have one person designated in charge. If you need to swap out with someone, make sure they know they’re on now. My pediatrician suggests using a name tag to officially keep track.

2. Teach your child to “stay where you can see me” Subtle as it sounds, don’t say “stay where I can see you” because most young children don’t know where YOU can see THEM, so phrase it the other way.

3. Label your kid. The Brooklyn mom is considering sewing her cell phone number into her child’s clothes. Another option is to write that phone number on her child’s belly with a sharpie. The sharpie trick is particularly good for large crowded amusement parks.

4. Teach them whom they can trust. Asking a parent for help is a start. Whitney also suggests finding a person in uniform.

I hope that our readers can offer a few more suggestions in the comments!