Grown ups need to brighten up too!

I recently got a suggestion from a thoughtful father that grown ups should also wear bright colors in crowded places to help their own kids see them. He felt that in a crowd, little kids will see adults only from the waist down, it would be helpful to have the caregiver wear bright colored pants or something on their legs like a bandanna or ribbon that a child could see if the child was lost.

I do think this is a good idea and I would encourage it as long as parents also heed teh other Away From Home Tips. An adult wearing bright color clothes could help a small child keep an eye on their caregiver, however, a lost child often panics and won't remember to even look or remember what the caregiver is wearing. In addition, in a crowded place, where there are lots of legs to look at, its really important that in addition to visual clues like the clothes, kids are given a cell phone number to proactively contact the "lost" parent.

The reason I didn't include this good idea in the Away from Home Tips is that we try to suggest things that are practical and reasonable for every family to do. Wearing bright colored pants isn't hard but may not be practical in many circumstances for many people. So, please go for it if you can. But please be sure to at least do the following: give kids safe ID, all caregivers should carry a recent photo of the child, and dress the child in bright green or yellow.