We head off to New York City next week and when we get home there are only a couple of days before school starts. So, while I am busy packing and getting ready for our trip, I am also getting ready for back to school. One thing that I have been working on is creating a kids emergency contact card for my daughters to have on our trip and in their school backpacks. While we have had many discussions with our girls about travelling in a strange city, the reality is that kids can become separated from their parents. Kids can get lost. In order to be prepared I made these handy printable cards to place in my daughters’ back pockets…in everything they wear.
Here is the Emergency Contact Card for home…
And, here is the Emergency Contact Card for travel…
Print the cards out and fill in your child’s information. Slip the card into your child’s back pocket, pin the card inside your child’s backpack or purse. Do not pin this card on the outside of your child’s clothing…that will provide your child’s name to every stranger who walks by.
Be sure to explain to your child what you have put on the card. If your child becomes separated from you, they can approach a police officer, a security guard or a responsible adult and pass the card to that adult. For instance, if we are in a museum and my daughter becomes separated she can locate a staff person and hand this card to that person. Even though my daughter is 10 years old, in this circumstance kids are often frightened and can forget information that under normal circumstances they know.
We are huge believers in being prepared. I will be printing these cards and stuffing them into my girls’ pockets as I pack the suitcase. Chances are they will never need to use them. We’ll come home in a week and I’ll pull them all out of their pockets before I throw the clothes in the wash. I look forward to recycling those little and important pieces of paper.