Today I was texting a friend back and forth about whether we wanted to meet together or not. Going out by myself with my 4 young children is actually a nerve racking experience. It's exhausting being hyper-vigiliant, let alone enjoying myself.
My friend suggested we meet up in 45 minutes. So I quickly got out of bed where I had been taking a nap. I had my girls all get their swim suits on while I got snacks, towels, sunscreen and hair stuff. That's the thing that people don't think about when taking into account "getting ready time". Hair. Oh the hair! I know some people enjoy doing their daughters' hair. I am not one of them. If I had only one daughter, maybe. However, God did not take it into account that I would have 3 daughters with massive amounts of hair! I alternated layering them with sunscreen (also a big job) and fixing their hair. I ran out of time fast. Luckily, for my 4th child I was blessed with a son, who does not take as much time to get ready. ;)
We got to the park right on time, whereas my friend that has one child (a daughter), texted me letting me know she was going to be a few minutes late. Actually ended being 1/2 hour late.
As I get the kids out of the van, I take a few minutes and using a Sharpe, I write my cell phone number on their arms. Not their names too because I don't want a stranger seeing them and calling them by their first name in pretense making my child think that the stranger knows them. I remind my kids while I'm writing on them not to talk to people we don't know and to stay in a specific area.
Now before you get all judgmental that I'm marking my kids up, keep in mind that a sharpe will last up to a few days and will not harm them (I didn't find out anywhere on the web that the ink would be dangerous). Now with my older children, you think, "Why not just have them memorize the phone number?" Remember what it was like to be 5 years old and to be scared. I mean scared with the only thought in your mind is, "Where is mom?" Kids when they're scared are not even going to remember their name. Or it will take a lot of blubbering to get it out, even if the adult can understand the name.
Moving on... I also my kids where sun hats in the summer. I get them from www.sundayafternoon.com. The hats block the sun and make it easy to identify my kids from a distance. Each of my children have a different color hat, that way I can just scan the heads of kids looking.. Oh there's green, the blue, the purple...Where's the beige? Oh, there she is! I started doing this because 1) other kids generally don't wear hats which make mine easy to spot 2) get all your kids ready or who get ready themselves and try to remember what they all were wearing. Nearly impossible! Hats are so much easier.
So off we went and the kids had so much fun. I always round up my kids when even just one has to go to the bathroom. And when one has to go, that means they all will try so I don't have to worry about going again. You just can't trust leaving any child alone for any length of time these days. Even to go to the bathroom. What if there was a predator in the bathroom lurking, waiting for that moment? Before you make any change of direction of your outing, you have to think, "what is the worst dangers that could happen. If this was an awful news headline, what would it read?"
For the love of goodness moms, don't lug a ton of stuff around with you! A lot of times I'll keep a men's small wallet and just my cell phone on me. I keep one in each pocket or in my granny pocket (sports bra). This keeps both of my hands free so I can catch a stumbling toddler or hold hands. It also means that if I have to chase after my kids, I don't need to worry about dropping my valuable stuff. Also, I always wear comfortable shoes I can run in. What if your child was snatched by somebody. Would you be able to chase after them in your shoes? Think safety over fashion. I love the sandal selection at REI. Great selection with stylish options.
I hope you learned some great ways to help keep you and your kids safe in outings. Let me know if you have any other good ideas. :D
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