Am I being over cautious? Trip to London

[diggermama]

Just looking for some opinions please. ExDP has collected our DS7 today, he’s taking him to London for a couple of days over half term. However I insisted on writing his mobile number in Sharpie on my son’s arm because I am terrified he will get lost and have no means of contacting his Dad!

ExDP rolls his eyes and says it’s OTT (we’ve argued about it in the past). My DH accepts this is who I am and lets me get on with it, he understands my anxiety.

Does anybody else do this when you take your kids on big days out, or big cities? Am I irrational and OTT or am I being practical and sensible?

Also what are the actual chances of him getting lost?

Is he likely to get lost, does he wander off, does ex look after him properly. Does your son carry a basic mobile phone with family numbers in it, that's better than writing it on his arm, he would still need a phone to call dad. Does he have a brightly coloured jacket that stands out , or a small bright rucksack.

Yes it is over cautious. Millions of people walk around London with their kids every day, they aren't getting lost.

I think it's sensible. You can actually get bracelets/necklaces/lanyards for this purpose.
Or details written on a card and laminated kept in pocket.
However a 7 year old needs to know what to do if that happened.
Who to approach (police, transport staff, shop assistant).
His full name, your full name, his dads (and I assume step dad).
His address.
Phone numbers.
If they travelled by train the station they arrived at.
The full name of his school (if he panics and forgets parents details he could be traced via his school).
I am sure he will be fine and have a lovely trip - but time to start teaching him the things above for next times.

I think it’s more important to drum into your son what to do if he gets lost; really and truly if someone found him and called the police and his dad called the police they’d be reunited pretty quickly.
I drum into my DC that they stay exactly where they are and do not wander off or look for me and I will find them.

Writing the contact mobile phone number on the DC is a good idea and all that is needed. It can't get lost or be taken off.

Yes, DC can get lost or wander off (and if you lose sight of them it's definitely a panic inducing moment). But that can happen anywhere

So yes, the DC needs to know what to do, and by age 7 (assuming NT) they should be well capable of this.

It is sensible to teach your DC what to do in an emergency, but having done that, it's time to enjoy the days out. Do not let your anxiety mar your DC's chances of normal age-appropriate days out. If you cannot bring yourself to provide them, fine. But do not prevent him from doing typical stuff with his other parent.

It's more important that your DS knows to do as he is told, hold his Dad's hand if necessary and make sure he sticks by his side.

I often took my 2 into central London at that age and younger and they never got lost.

Im a brownie leader in London (7-10yr olds) and if we are going on an outing away from our local area, we make sure that all the girls have either a wristband or a lanyard with the leaders phone number written on, that they know how to safely identify someone who can help (eg. what tube staff wear or police etc) and other safety rules (eg staying in their pairs, walking sensibly etc). Its part of our basic safety briefing before we go anywhere. So i dont think you are being OTT - my own DC is a toddler but i would do the same for her when she is a bit bigger and walking places.

There's some really good advice here, thanks everyone. DS can be trusted to be sensible and not run off etc, I know it's just an anxiety of mine.

I'm tube staff. We deal with lost children quite often. If your son is lost he can go into a tube station and find one of us or press a help point. We'll do everything we can to reunite him with his dad.

I brought up my daughter in London. She's now old enough to look after herself but when she was your son's age I used to tell her to go in a shop or cafe and ask them to ring the police, if she ever got lost. Thankfully she never did.