Let's see, purse, keys, sunscreen, water, kids ... kids? ... where'd the kids go?
Summer's here, which means theme park season is in full swing. You may not think it can happen to you, but keeping up with kids in a busy theme park can be as difficult as herding puppies in a beef jerky factory. There are distractions screaming for their attention everywhere.
We recently got an e-mail from Whoa, Momma! reader Joann Parker from Minneapolis who read our post from last summer on five ways to avoid losing your kids on vacation. She sent along a brilliant idea on how to keep up with a large family in a busy vacation spot like a theme park: bright neon baseball caps.
A few years ago, we traveled with another family, as we made our way from Minneapolis to Maine. Our children at the time were ages 6-12. Our friends had bought some brightly-colored baseball caps -- neon yellow for them and neon pink for us! Whenever we stopped someplace where there was a large crowd, each family would wear its caps. At Niagara Falls, where there are throngs of people, the caps were a lifesaver! It was such an easy way to spot either a child or a parent who was not in close proximity.
Thanks for sharing that, Joann. I love those smack-your-forehead brilliant ideas that seem so obvious once you hear them.
Here are some other ideas we've gleaned over the years from more experienced parents:
BRAND THEM: Not literally, of course, but finding a way to stamp your cell phone number on the child can make finding you much easier. Get some of those "Hello My Name is..." stickers, write "Mom's cell phone number" (Don't put your child's name on the badge).
Get some of those cheap rubber bracelets (like those shown here at right) and write your number on them with a Sharpie pen. Speaking of Sharpies, some moms just use them to write their number directly on the child's belly.
DOUBLE VISION: Dress them alike (or in Joann's neon ball caps) so you can say "He's dressed like this" to the park's worker. Or, take a good picture of the kids at the beginning of the day on your digital camera. That way you have a way to show staff members what your kids were dressed in.
TALK EARLY AND OFTEN: I was caught off guard once when I forgot to talk about staying together ahead of time. We arrived at the Nick Hotel just as it was "slime time" at the pool and my 9 year old raced into the crowd before we had a chance to establish some ground rules. It took a long time to find him again among the huge crowd of kids at the water slide. Before you even leave the car, talk about how you will all stay together. Establish rules about holding hands, or how far ahead or behind they can walk and how to find each other if you somehow get separated. At small spaces like a park, we establish a base camp at a picnic table or chairs and let the kids know where to find us before we let them go off and play. For larger spaces, you could pick a landmark to meet if you get separated.
-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
Amy Hollyfield is a workaholic mother of two young
daughters, blessed to have a work-at-home husband who makes their life possible. She was born in Detroit and moved around a lot as a kid (read: Air Force brat). She has lived in Florida since the month after she
graduated from Northwestern University. She lives for the yelps, hugs and kisses that greet her on nights that she makes it home before bedtime.
Sherry Robinson was born in the Sunshine State but she feels more comfortable inside a mall than outside at the beach -- thank goodness her husband is the outdoorsy type. He takes their two sons on night hikes, beach runs and bug hunts while Sherry does her best to take care of the homestead -- and find out what is new on the store shelves. A graduate of the University of South Florida in 19noneofyourbusiness, Sherry has been at the Times for nearly 20 years. And with nearly 10 years of parenting experience, Sherry is eager to offer up some great dish on raising kids and keeping your sanity.
Guest blogger Tracey Henry, a.k.a. Suburban Diva, is a frantic, slightly frazzled mother of four. She is a freelance humor writer and author which is the only thing that parenting four children ages 12-1 trains you for, except perhaps court jester and professional bull rider. She and her husband have lived all over the country, but settled in Florida eight years ago because the beachcombing is so much better here than on the banks of the Mississippi. Their family time includes a lot of sport -- both watching and playing -- and fun in the sun and surf. Catch her in Whoa, Momma! and on her site, 
Sherri Day and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world in early 2008. So far, she describes parenthood as exciting, exhausting and exhilarating. A self-described Southern belle with small-town values and big-city idealism, Sherri was born in rural Georgia. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Clark Atlanta University and her master's of journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She is the Brandon bureau chief for the Times. Sherri moved to Tampa from Brooklyn four years ago.
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