What do you tell your kids to do if they get "lost"?

[iujen94]

Planning ahead for our boys' first cruise - they'll be 6 and 9, and I'm wondering if you all have suggestions on what to tell kids to do in the (hopefully and I'm sure unlikely) event that they get "lost." We've been to Disney lots of times and give them "dog tags" with our cell phone numbers on them, plus tell them to look for the name tags that that the Disney employees wear (or, failing that, to look for a mom with kids). Since you can't use a cell phone on a cruise, I'm not sure what to tell them to do if they find themselves separated from us. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Chances are they will be in the youth program or with you. But I told my son if he ever can't find me- go to the room and wait there. It's never been a problem for us.

[VillaHappy]

We tell them to FREEZE LIKE A POPSICLE! Because the minute we realize they are not with us, we will circle back and find them. We will backtrack our steps until we find them.

 

However, if they realize they are lost and start walking to look for us, this would delay meeting up again for several minutes or hours. :eek: Scary to think about, good to have a plan in place for this sort of thing.

[Kamloops50]

If they get lost or separated , tell to go to one one the bars or ask a staff member to call security and then page you.

[Onessa]

The stop and stay in one place is a good rule no matter where you are. The ship's crew will also all have name tags. So if they are lost on-board see someone with a ship nametag they should speak up.

 

This is a good topic to cover with your kids no matter where you are.

[OneStrangeGuy]

I will be travelling with two young ladies aged 7 & 9. so I can identify with your concern.

The first thing I intend to do after we board is to reserve my deck chair ;)

Then I'm going to teach the girls how to find the pursers desk from anywhere on the ship. This is centrally located in the main atrium. The kids are prety resourseful, and I think I can teach them that rather quickly.

The next thing is to teach them where our cabin is.

The final thing is to teach them where our life boat is. Hopefully, they won't need that though.

I figure that the purser can handle any kind of emergency, even a lost cabin, that might come up.

My kids have rules, and one is that they're not allowed in the bars without me, so that suggestion is out for us.

[Keith1010]

I would just give them a specific place to meet.

 

Keith

[Mom2B&Z]

We also tell our two to freeze and tell the nearest crew member they are lost. We have them memorize our cabin number before we go, so they can figure out who they are quickly. On the first day we go looking for different crew members to show them examples of people they could ask for help. We equate it to finding a police officer, fire person or emergency response person in an emergency at home, so the idea isn't completely foreign.

I disagree with setting a meeting spot, as if one of my children is really upset they might not be able to find their way there, and I don't want them wandering the ship alone.

[cb at sea]

First, the 6 year old should never be alone...so no chance to "get lost"....the nine year old shouldn't be allowed to "roam" at will....I'd be ok with them going to grab a snack in the WJ while I waited at the pool....they would need SPECIFIC places to go...not just wandering! That will reduce any chance of "getting lost". Any crew member is the one to approach.

 

As a general note....folks really shouldn't tell kids not to talk to strangers. They should be taught HOW to talk to strangers and identify the most likely to help them! Remember that boy who got lost on a camping trip? He was within sight of rescuers several times, but because he didn't know them (he'd been told never to talk to strangers!), he wouldn't answer...it almost cost him his life. Kids do need to learn to fend for themselves, and getting a grasp on how to interact with folks they don't know is key!

[ohok]

If they get lost or separated , tell to go to one one the bars or ask a staff member to call security and then page you.

 

I vote for this response, the freeze like a popsicle thing is good also (tough call). When I myself was a child I always had my parents paged when I lost them. They were usually supre ticked off about it but it took less time than us searching for each other.

[skippyy]

I suggest they hope for the best and be on their good behavior. This should increase their chances of finding a nice adoptive family until will re-locate them, sometimes after they finish college..

[Onessa]

First, the 6 year old should never be alone...so no chance to "get lost"....!

Even when they are with you 24/7 a kid can still get separated from you. So unless you are planning to superglue his had to yours, prepare him (and yourself) for the possibililty that you might sometime get "lost".

 

You are at the service desk, you need to move over a few steps; DS is busy looking at something else and does not notice you've moved. Someone else ends up between the two of you. You think he's stayed with dad, dad thinks he is with you. Dad is bumped and jostled and ends up on the other side of the room, it's busy, you nod at him and motion that you are leaving. He also leaves, but from a different door. DS is still in the original spot. You have on a red polo shirt and khaki shorts. DS spots someone with a red polo and khaki shorts and follows her.

 

Whatever, it can and does happen. No one is a "bad" parent not keeping track of their kid. No one is a "bad" kid running off. It just happened.

 

Remember that boy who got lost on a camping trip? He was within sight of rescuers several times, but because he didn't know them (he'd been told never to talk to strangers!), he wouldn't answer...it almost cost him his life. Kids do need to learn to fend for themselves, and getting a grasp on how to interact with folks they don't know is key!

You need to judge the common sense quotient of your kid. I recall that the boy of which you speak was high functioning autistic (may have been Asbergers). With kids whose thought patterns are a bit different than the norm, you may need to adjust your "rules". Not talking to "strangers" is a good rule -- but as you point out having a good definition of who a "stranger" is makes that rule a better rule.

[chipmaster]

For me the same common sense rule on ship, in shopping mall, at a amusment park; don't talk to any random people, seek an employee, usually one dressed in a uniform, and in a public area. NEVER get taken into a private ara without people.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Do you mean lost as in, they know where they are but don't know where their parents are? Or lost as in they don't even know where they are? In either case, probably teaching them how to find reception is the answer - and if they can't find it, instruct them to ask any passenger who isn't a man on his own. (The chances of finding a pair of child molesters or a single female child molester on board ship is small enough to ignore.)

[khm1]

When I was on Explorer this past summer, I found a lost little girl in the royal promenade one evening. The royal promenade, for those unfamiliar, is sort of like a mall in the middle of the ship. It has shops and bars along its length, with guest relations at one end. The girl was about three and was just standing in the middle of the promenade, crying. I spotted her from about 10 yards away. I was shocked to see many people just walking by, unconcerned that she was crying and alone.

 

I had my 5 year old DD with me. I kneeled down and asked her if she lost her Mommy. She just nodded. She could not tell me her name or her Mom's name. I introduced my DD to her and told her that I would help her find her Mommy.

 

My DD took her hand and we walked together towards the guest relations desk. When we were halfway there ( about 20 yards), I spotted a ship officer in uniform. I told him the situation and he led us the rest of the way to guest relations.

 

Her Mom was standing by the guest relations desk, frantic. It was a happy ending. She thanked us profusely, and the little girl was so relieved.

 

This occurrence made me realize that I had not prepared my DD for this situation. I had a talk with DD about what to do if this ever happened to her. I told her to try to find a person in a ship's uniform. We made a game of finding ship staff. I also told her to look for a Mom with kids or an older "grandma" lady to help. I made sure that she knew how to give the names of my DH and myself, and what cabin # she is in.

 

Of course, you need to find age-appropriate ways to prepare your child. But I think that a talk and simple instructions go a long way. Hope this helps.

[Alex71]

Our 5-year-old managed to run off while we were exiting the theater. We thought he had started to run to the cabin, but didn't find him there. When we walked back in the direction of the theater, we found him half way. Two of the members of the entertainment team had started to walk him back to the cabin.

 

My advice would be to tell them to meet you in the cabin, in case they can't find it on their own, they should ask the crew.

[leighi123]

I had my son wear his room key thing with his name on it at all times.

 

I told him to "stop and sit down" if he got lost, right where he was. This has worked many times at theme parks, and on the only cruise we've done so far (he was 2.5 at the time).

 

It looks weird for a kid to be sitting alone with no adult in the middle of the floor, so adults are likely to check out what is going on and help him out. And, the kid stays put so I can find him. Most of the time, I'm near by, he just lost sight of me or something, but it helps me find him quick! "Freeze" doesn't work b/c he can't still for long, hence the "sit".

 

 

I don't think it always works to tell kids to find a staff member, or police man, or whatever, b/c kids have a different perspective than adults, everyone is just butts and legs from their eye level, they aren't going to be reading name tags or anything like that. And its hard for them to notice specific clothing and that kind of thing.