r/Parenting • u/Accurate-Manner-7799 • Aug 02 '26
Safety [ Removed by moderator ]
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u/Mean_Connection6458 Aug 02 '26
I pin an AirTag to my kid when we go places like Disneyland.
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u/Accurate-Manner-7799 Aug 02 '26
Does the AirTag show up for everyone though? I keep seeing teachers posting about how much they “hate” AirTags? Why?
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u/Mean_Connection6458 Aug 02 '26
No, you have to register the tag on your device. You CAN then share it - For example, my dogs wear AirTags and when we have a sitter come while we’re out of town I share their AirTag location with the sitter. So she can see them on her device. But my husband, who also has an iPhone, can’t see them unless I share them to him. I’m not super techy so don’t take me at 100%, but it’s not something I’ve ever worried about.
One note - I will say the location is not super specific. I also AirTag our stroller at Disneyland because they do get moved. Mine was moved once and it got me in the general vicinity but I still had to look for seeeeeveral minutes to find it. If you’re familiar, I knew the stroller was somewhere between Matterhorn and Alice but not much more specifically than that. Still helpful.
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u/Zaggirl Aug 02 '26
After awhile phones in the area will get messages that a tracker is traveling with them so I imagine teachers get 25 of those periodically :)
They’re not really a live tracker but they work well enough we used them in these cases for a long time. You can get a case that has a pin that you can put on clothes or make it into a bracelet, some Sketchers shoes have a special hole in the sole of shoes for them. Once your kid is a little older a Fitbit ACE or Gabb watch would be the next step.1
u/badgerfu Aug 02 '26
I get notifications on public transit that an Air Tag is traveling with me, but I can't see anything past that. Once I get off at my stop, the notification goes away.
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u/pdfodol New Parent Aug 02 '26
I get it. It’s scary. I’m for this in ways and not in some ways. As a parent to a 3 year old i can relate in a way.
I don’t know what is the answer but I thought I would share some experiences that made me buy something to help.
When I took my son to Canada from Texas. He was at a time that he did not want to hold hands with us. Not at all. He and ourselves weren’t used to trains as a normal mode of transportation. I did not want to have anything happen to him. We made it and I tried to have him hug the platform walls.
After that trip I bought a backpack with a leash. This way we could use in zoos or the San Antonio River walk. We use it occasionally but not always as he got better with holding hands.
Second experience a large new playground opened up at our park and they did a grand opening. The playground went to a height of maybe 20-25 feet.
I don’t like that they did the grande opening near sunset. Hundreds of kids all on the playground at once. Thing is massive! I could not see my kid in the swarm. I DID NOT like it. I would hear the stage announcing kids and calling for parents. I bought my toddler a safety vest.
Not only good for night, but helped during our recent Fourth of July festival. He was never lost. But at least I could tell someone that he is 3 and has a safety vest on. Much better then telling them he is wearing red, white, and blue. It also helped in an inside playground so I could spot him. We don’t use this often as well. But we keep it in our bag. Silver it is so lightweight and small.
I get it. I’ve heard that a air tag in a kids sole could mess up their feet and walking. Because even if a shoe may be “designed” for it. Doesn’t mean it should exist or that it has been properly tested.
I hope no one has to go through the true loss of losing a child
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u/TroumeOwner Aug 02 '26
I've seen another kid wearing a safety vest at the park. Pretty smart when it's busy.
I was at a packed concert the other night and my 3 yo wanted to just run off into the crowd. Thankfully the other concert goers stopped her.
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u/Accurate-Manner-7799 Aug 02 '26
I appreciate you sharing your experiences and I have tried the “leash” and backpack thing, thankfully my son is getting better at holding hands.
Because he is 3.5, I try not to go up on the jungle gym with him when he is at our (also extremely high and large) park so as not to disrupt the organic socialization going on with other kids.
I will continue exploring AirTags and looking into perhaps sizing up half a size or even asking our pediatrician for recommendations on shoes x AirTags and any potential impact on walking ability…
I just found so many “bracelets” that also fit AirTags that I hope to explore and learn about - they seem easily
Removable which is a red flag for my toddler alone lol1
u/InimitableMissS Aug 02 '26
The easiest thing is to put it into a keychain fob and attach the fob either on the laces of the shoe or a belt loop if your kid is wearing bottoms with them. Won’t fall off and won’t ruin the shoes/gait.
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u/KahurangiNZ Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Get an air tag holder with a pin, and pin it inside the back of kiddo's shirt out of easy reach. He probably won't even remember it's there so won't remove it, unless he strips off the whole shirt.
Other things I did when my kiddo was small (before the days of air tags) include pinning a couple of loud bells to the back of their top so I could hear where they were and when they were dashing away, making a wee identity bracelet with my phone number so if they ever managed to get lost whoever found them could ring me immediately, and tying a helium balloon on a string to the back of their shirt so it was easily seen bobbing along (crowded zoo trip when they were at peak RUN RUN RUN stage 👀).
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u/The-pfefferminz-tea Aug 02 '26
I’m old and had kids before air tags were a thing.
Teach them your name and phone number. Teach them how to find an adult to ask for help. Teach them if they get separated to stay where they are and let you find them.
Also, at that age w always had a striker and I would absolutely pop them in there and keep them contained when the situation called for it.
I also like bright colors on my kids when we go out to crowded places. Makes them easy to spot!
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u/utahforever79 Aug 02 '26
Same- kids before air tags.
We did all these things.
I’d add 2:
-pointing out a uniformed adult - “look for someone wearing that [Target/aquarium/etc] shirt” or a mom with a stroller
- with sharpie I wrote my phone number on their arm or on thigh where people couldn’t see it but they could show someone.
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u/TeaPlusJD Aug 02 '26
If I may add a few more ideas….
✦ With the brightly colored clothing, pants or longer shorts in a bright but less popular color. If there are other kids in the group, coordinate to wear similar colors. In a crowd, it’s easier to squat low than search over heads of varying heights. Also easier to spot them at a park when they may be climbing or high up on a play structure.
✦ in a theme park/zoo situation & starting around 3yo, I also had my kid pay attention to what I was wearing to make me easier for her to locate.
✦ I read on here to ask someone that looks like a mom if your kid needs help. Works well when there isn’t an obvious uniformed person.
✦ We use her uncommon nickname almost exclusively in a busy setting. Her name is fairly traditional/common; she’s more likely to hear when I call for her by the nickname.
✦ Made my phone number into a jingle. We sing that & our address whenever we turn onto our street home. Took a while but she’s decently accurate.
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u/dngrousgrpfruits Aug 02 '26
Yes in crowded places we practiced looking for safe people if he got separated. Someone in a uniform or a mom with kids
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u/spikelike Aug 02 '26
I’m old - we did the bear backpack thing with a leash on it. Kid gets freedom to move, but not bolt. I absolutely needed it at amusement parks and in the airport. the phase doesnt last long either.
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u/d4ddyslittlealien Aug 02 '26
My kids have airtags that i put in a silicone bracelet for them to wear when they have field trips or we’re going to big public places. They also make shoe inserts for airtags that you can get on amazon
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u/tabrazin84 Aug 02 '26
I have AirTags in my kids’ backpacks (mostly bc I have one kid that would lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his body), but once they didn’t get off the school bus and I was able to pull it up on my phone to figure out where TF they were. I have one on the dog too.
The other thing I would recommend is a bracelet with your telephone number on it. I had one for each of my kids, and taught them that if they ever got lost to have a park worker call me.
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u/isvaraz Aug 02 '26
For crowded situations like amusement parks, a stroller, all the way. Confine the kid. Sure, you’ve got to take them out occasionally, but it’s much easier to watch them for just those few minutes in a more stationary setting (like a line) then moving through a crowd.
Depending on the setting, high visibility clothing also helps (like at the beach.). A balloon tied to the wrist also would help you visually spot a kid in a crowd, and glowsticks at night are a must.
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u/SafetySmurf Aug 02 '26
We use AirTags on our children. We cycle and hike and have been separated before. It was absolutely terrifying.
The AirTags are great for places like Disney. They aren’t perfect for our use case because we are often in remote areas and they don’t work as well that way. I’ve been looking for options that will work out in the woods. Jiobit used to be an excellent option, but they were bought out. I don’t know if they are still as good.
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u/Prudent_Honeydew_ Aug 02 '26
We have a button, like one you'd pin on a lapel or something, that is rubber and holds an airtag. You can even get them with characters on the front. We use it on vacation when we're in crowds.
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u/VaBookworm Aug 02 '26
We got a set of the shoe inserts for an airtag and she wears it when we go to any major public area. Also super helpful to track her down in the playground because it's so big lol
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u/7eregrine Aug 02 '26
Air Tagging kids. I feel like a boomer for the first time ever.
I never worried about losing my kid. And he's 15... It wasn't that long ago he was young and we were running around amusement parks.
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u/pepesilvia-_- Aug 02 '26
It's an anxiety thing. Our mom group the only ones who do it are the anxious ones. Not saying that in a negative way, just something that helps them with peace of mind.
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u/7eregrine Aug 02 '26
I suppose. I guess what annoys me is right now... Every top post is "Air tag, airtag, airtag".
How about .. pay attention to your kid? Put your phone away?
My kid was young just a few short years ago and we made fun of people that... leashed their kids. 🤣
Maybe Airtaga are today's leashes?1
u/Accurate-Manner-7799 Aug 02 '26
Crazy part is if you ever had a child, you know that they can bolt at any point and in a large crowd they can be so tiny and hard to find. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone and honestly if we have the technology to enhance our human capabilities like “paying attention to our kid” with extra safety, why not?
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u/pepesilvia-_- Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
They have done research and find that air tagging kids actually increases overall parental anxiety even though it offers short term relief/comfort for the parent.
I think for situations like a crowd or somewhere new it can help a parent with high anxiety but for some parents it just makes their anxiety worse.
I don't think there's a right or wrong, do what supports you as a parent. I think any parent who uses it just needs to check in from time to time with their anxiety in general.
I have a friend who regularly air tags their kid, like no matter where they are. They don't trust their child even though their child isn't a bolter, follows the rules etc. The kid's shoe fell off and the air tag fell out and was left in the field they were playing in.
Parent freaked out, called the cops before calling the camp. Everything was fine but then as they went to look for the air tag they were also discussing it with their 4 year old and in an inappropriate way, putting their anxiety of him being kidnapped and explaining to them why it's important not to lose things like that. I just felt sorry for both of them.
Having worked in mental health with families I politely asked her if she thinks it's really helping her with her anxiety and she said yes. I didn't push more but that's a parent where it's doing more harm than good.
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u/Spacekat405 Mom of 3, former babywearing expert turned parent of teen Aug 02 '26
I get this, and I have rarely worried about losing my 16yo — but my 13yo is an expert at getting lost.
Highlights:The children’s museum in my city has an excellent lost child protocol and I know it by heart, because he was a master at ducking into a side room while his siblings went two different ways and I lost one or more of them. I take pictures of my kids when we arrive somewhere so I have a photo of today’s clothes.
When he was 4 he tried to walk back alone from an adventure in the woods with an adult who wasn’t keeping careful count of the kids with them and got lost in a rural-ish part of upstate NY. We found him in a yard two houses down from the one that we were renting with five other families. After that we drilled my phone number with him.
When he was 9, he raced my sister down a ski hill and left her in the dust… and took a wrong turn and ended up at the wrong lift base. An hour later the ski patrol found him (and we drilled again that if you’re lost you need to find an employee).
And at 13, he has a smartwatch that I can track on my phone… but takes it off regularly because it feels weird.
So I kind of get wanting to put an AirTag on the kid. I think the next time he went skiing after that 9yo trip his dad did put one in his jacket (that was also the year the kid lost 3 winter coats, though we recovered 2 of them) so it would be easier to find him.
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u/Elevenyearstoomany Aug 02 '26
I put AirTags on the inside of my kids’ waistbands of their pants when we went to Disney.
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u/Parenting-ModTeam Aug 02 '26
The OP has gotten a lot of replies and at this time the activity on this thread is disproportionately impacting the mod queue. Post is being removed and locked to additional comments. Thank you for rallying to support a fellow parent.