Ever Misplace a Child?

My children are getting older; a supremely better option than the alternative, but they still require a significant amount of guidance and parental supervision.  This is not supposed to be an exposition about modern parenting techniques.  It would likely prove me to be old fashioned, as I believe parents should keep a rather tight reign on their children until they leave home to discover all of the many things for which they are still unprepared.  As a result, I find myself on school sponsored field trips frequently.

Recently, at the Detroit Zoo, I was asked to chaperone my daughter and two of her school chums through the park.  Each of them had chosen an animal to study and about which to write a report.  These choices played a large role in setting our route.  As we studied the map together, they also determined that we should see the lion and the polar bear exhibits.  Along the way, we would need to stop and eat our lunch, and finally, on our walk back to the front gate, they all agreed that we should spend a few minutes on the playground.

Almost as soon as we completed our group agenda I began to dread the task of leadership set before me.  Where would I find the energy required to organize and keep track of these independant little spitfires at my age?  How would I be able to keep up at my age?  What would I do if the group got separated?  Then my safety-man mind kicked in and I came up with a simple, elegant contingency plan using the wisdom that comes from being a person of my age.  It had to be simple so the children would remember and execute the plan properly.

I took a picture of them with my camera phone.  Each of them was given a piece of paper with my name and cell phone number.  They were given one simple instruction in the event they found themselves separated from me; Stay put!  I promised I would come back for them by retracing my steps.  I told them not to approach a stranger for help, but that if a stranger offered to help, they were to simply tell that person to call my phone number.

Maybe there are other solutions and precautions.  The thrust of this article, though, is to ask the question "Does my child know what to do if they get lost or left behind?"

Of course all opinions and suggestions manumitted here are subject to your own better idea. I'm not proud.