Emergency Bracelets for Disaster Preparation

What if Catastrophe Strikes Your Area?

If something were to happen to you or one of your family members, such as getting separated in the midst of a major disaster, would you or your children be identifiable for reunification? What if one of you was hurt, knocked unconscious, or unable to remember where you belonged; or perhaps you have a special needs child, or one who is just too young to talk?

These thoughts plagued me after Japan's terrifying 9.0 quake and tsunami. Unless the local authorities recognized you, as well as your other family members (guaranteeing speedy reunions) you could be checking through hospitals, morgues, and shelters for weeks, or months.

Separation Anxiety & Your Child's Safety

After driving through a sink hole, that submerged my minivan engine on a routine trip between Baja and Los Angeles, California, (shortly after Japan's earthquake) made me think even harder about disaster preparation. The possibility that my son and I could become separated made me realize that we needed to be wearing identifying tags of some kind, as in the military.

My son does not have charge over his passport, and neither do most children (who do not travel with their paperwork attached). As a parent I hold all our documented paperwork for safekeeping, and we always travel together. However, if we were to become separated, and I was detached from our passports, neither of us would be identifiable for a quick reunion.

Emergency I.D. Bracelets

We solved the dilemma of disaster potentially separating us, by making identifying bracelets, strung in clear fishing line with alphabet beads (as once used on new-borns for hospital identification). My emergency I.D. bracelet spells out "My son is . . ." (with his name separated by a heart bead) and his bracelet spells out "His initials (separated by a heart bead, and continues) my mom is Cheri Majors".

Our homemade I.D. bracelets won't get us across international borders, but they do give me peace-of-mind knowing we have taken one positive step toward reunification, if separated by disaster. Your family should try to incorporate something similar, maybe with identifying necklaces, or perhaps matching printed t-shirts; which would bring your family one step closer to facing disaster head on!