Travel Tip: I’m Lost

Reading Travelling with Doggie Tags from The Wee Life, I was reminded of a post I wrote almost two years ago, just before I put this blog on hiatus for a year. Since then, we’ve managed to lose Chloe twice, once in NYC and once in Istanbul. Given, in both cases we lost her for only a few heart-stopping moments, but it does happen. I don’t fear that something terrible will happen to her. But I know what the overwhelming feeling of being lost is like, and I want to be sure she and Camille have tools in order to help get found again.

Here’s what I wrote in my earlier post on the subject:

Despite your best intentions, it could happen. You and your children may become separated. Be it in a crushing crowd or a superfast elevator door or because a child just tends to wander off. Do your kids know what to do?

1. Make a plan. Tell them what to do if they get stuck on a train, etc. Tell them what to do if you get stuck moving away form them. Tell them what to do if you get separated in a crowd in another way.
2. Make sure they have a piece of paper with their name, your name, a contact number for you, a contact number for someone else not in the area, contact information for your hotel.
3. I always give my kids a token amount of money, around $20 to use in the case of an emergency.
4. Any bag that your child has should also contain identifying information. Believe it or not, lost items can be recovered (though not always of course). There are many honest people out there who will do the right thing if given the chance.

What are your tips on preparing for an emergency? I was thinking about this the other day after the shooting and subsequent evacuation at the museum near us in DC. Sometimes I do let the kids separate from me within the museum. What would happen if we were evacuated in different directions? I don’t want to spend all my time worrying, but having a plan can be a good plan.