Enough already: I need a safety device!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2003
Enough already: I need a safety device!
3
Fri, 06-29-2007 - 5:45pm

After picking up ds from his school and pre-k 4th of July party, we went to the park. It was a spur of the moment thing cause we had a little extra time. Everything was going fine. Well, I had to go to the bathroom which is a bit of a walk from the play area. So I asked ds if he had to go. He didn't, so I told him I did and he would have to come with me in two minutes. He could slide one more slide then I would race him to the bathroom.

We ran over and I was in the stall and told him to wait. A second later I said "Are you there?" I heard nothing and hurried my a$$ out of there. He had completely vanished. There is a busy street nearby and I called out his name. I headed towards the play area. He had gone to the furthest end of the play area near a stupid ice cream truck. I was so sick to my stomach.

I picked him up told him how scared I was and we had to go now. I tried to explain and use very few words. He got nada of what I said. We are home and we spoke calmly and he still gets nada.

BTW most of the time I do make him go in the stall with me but it can be difficult due to smells in the bathroom.

I've looked at devices before but which one do you recommend for my situation? Good lord my heart is still beating.

TIA,
Molly

Molly
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2003
Fri, 06-29-2007 - 6:10pm
Okay I just found the teddy bear device on mypreciouskid.com but it only goes up to 150 ft. Does anyone else think that isn't much? 150 ft????
Molly
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-29-2007 - 6:53pm

Hey Molly,

never heard of those devices but would love to hear if they are helpful. Thankfully we are past that stage but good information is always good to know.

Well the best safety device is a buddy. Go with another mom to the park so that you can switch off in such a situation. Another thing we used to do was to go to parks that are fenced or far away from streets but that may not help the bathroom situation. My SIL and I used to go to the park together 2-3 times a week when the kids were little and at this phase of development. It was easier to go as a pair and we found ALL the good parks that are safer in the area. (Far from streets, fenced in, etc)

As for the bathroom, I can tell you even now, If I don't have someone with me and I can't wait I start the count down to go home. Even if I have to tempt them with some other fun activity or such.

As you will see on Sunday, we kind of made it so we don't really have to go to parks either. We have most of it in our backyard built by DH because parks can be hard.

Not great for every situation but it is what we used to do when we went.

Renee

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-13-2007
Sun, 07-01-2007 - 12:47am

Hey! First of all....BREATHE! I know you just had the livin' daylights scared outta you, cuz I've had it done to me! Anyway, I found a system called "Ion-Kids" that works up to 350 ft. It's a bit expensive, but I'm savin' up for it! I think it would be excellent for my ds as he LOVES to wear watches and stuff. AND, it has a tamper alarm that senses the child's skin, so if the child or someone else tries to remove it, it sends an alarm to the base unit. Plus, they cannot remove it without the key which is stored on the bottom of the base unit. AND, it has a "Find" feature which is really neat. Here is the link so you can check it out... http://www.ion-kids.com/product.html . There are also lots of neat products at www.mypreciouskid.com . Hope this helps ya out! Good luck!

Jen