Have Children? Label Everything - Including Your Kids!

If you have young children, you understand the need to put their name on everything. Not that you are so materialistic, but rather it is a requirement of day care programs, schools, camps, Sunday school and basically any situation your child attends without you in tow. So how do you manage labeling all these necessary items? I have found a few products that can assist in making this chore not so painful.

The first is vinyl labels. These personalized printed labels can contain all sorts of information. Whether you choose a child's name, just your families last name or your entire address and phone number, these labels will stick to all sorts of items and will not wash off in the washing machine. I found them when I needed to label our lunch containers for a mom's day out program. I had labels printed with my daughter's name. A friend had just their last name printed so that she could use her labels interchangeably for her three children - smart! These can be purchased online through Identity Direct.

I remember going to summer camp and having labels in all my clothing. My mom purchased a roll of labels and then painstakingly sewed them into every article of clothing. You can now buy sew in or iron on labels. These work great for all kinds of clothing needs. While you can always go the route of a permanent marker on the size and washing tag, these labels make for a nice option. Another need for these might be elder care labels. If you have a family member in a nursing facility, you may need to label their clothing. While a search on the internet will locate a variety of label providers, one I found was Barrett Labels.
They offer soft fabric labels so as not to scratch as well as an option for removal of the iron on labels should you want to hand down or donate clothing.

Another option would be a permanent self-inking stamp. This would work on all sorts of surfaces. The ink is fast drying and water resistant and permanent. The ink works well on non-porous materials. You could stamp your child's school supplies, her clothing, and her lunch containers. Basically anything you want to label could be stamped. Keep in mind the label is not removable and can easily smear in the application process, this is a very flexible purchase once use many times kind of an option. UltiFast Permanent Stamps are available at a variety of online retailers, the stamp is self inking and comes in two sizes 3/4" x 3/4" or 7/8" x 2-1/4". Stamps First carries both sizes.

Finally, the last product is not a way to identify you material possessions but rather your child. My children are young and don't know how to read or write. They don't know their phone number. I don't plan to have them out of my sight but we all know young children can wander off and in a busy setting, it can cause shear panic. While there are options for labeling their clothing or shoes with contact information I found a tricky alternative. And now I don't have to resort to my sister's solution of writing on her children with permanent marker. You can tattoo them! No, not permanently but rather with a temporary tattoo that is personalized with your contact information. These are a great option for large amusement parks, summer vacations, basically any highly crowded activity. Have another level of safety for your children and a bit more piece of mind for yourself. This temporary tattoo will provide a highly visible identification that stays in place even when wet and will last for days. Besides, all kids love temporary tattoos and these have a variety of designs to choose from. You can find them at Safety Tat.