"I found parents who would stick the tag on their kids and say, 'Everything's cool,' " she said. "I say this: You might install LoJack on your car, but you don't then leave it in an unsafe place with the doors open. The reality is that the parent, the caregiver and the child need to know what to do" if a child and parent are separated, she said.
Donna Worthy of Annapolis, who was touring Six Flags with her daughter and niece, says that from a very young age, her daughter learned to give authorities her phone number and her mother's name "so if anyone asks them, she doesn't just say, 'Mom.' "
Often, parents feel overwhelmed by the possibility of losing a child, as Michele Welsh of Phoenix, Md., did once as her family entered a crowded Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. She wrote her cell phone number on her kids' wrists in marker. After parents at the park marveled at her idea, she invented SafetyTat, a temporary tattoo on which parents can write their cell phone numbers. The tattoo is waterproof and lasts up to two weeks.
Welsh launched her safety tattoo venture two years ago and soon discovered that other parents shared the same concerns about losing kids in a crowd. She has since sold 500,000 SafetyTats, and has retailers in Sweden, Australia, Canada and South Africa.
"It's all spread by word of mouth, from mom bloggers like me," said Welsh, whose product can be purchased online and at several amusement parks. "I haven't talked to one person who hasn't had that fear or hasn't experienced losing a child momentarily in a crowd."
Officials at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pa., offer a similar approach, giving kids free wristbands on which parents can write cell numbers. At Six Flags in Bowie, there are four security booths around the park and a station for lost children inside the first-aid office.
The Freemasons of Maryland took another approach, creating the Child Identification Program, which collects basic data such as a photo, fingerprints and identifying characteristics. The free program provides parents with a permanent record on paper and CD.
Doug Bassett, director for the Freemasons Grand Lodge of Maryland, said that since the program was launched in April of last year, the group has identified more than 5,600 kids, seniors and at-risk adults at 54 events in the state. The group also conducts videotaping, fingerprinting and DNA sampling of children for parents.
