Take your kid’s ID with you on vacation
Take your kid’s ID with you on vacation By MELISSA SÁNCHEZ STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER Families traveling with children under 16 this summer may want to pack something extra to stay safe — identification for the kids. When a child is missing while on vacation, it can be difficult to provide police a recent photograph and an accurate description of height and weight, Grapevine police Lt. Todd Dearing said. “It’s hard to come across that information, especially if you are upset,” he said. “The better the documentation and more prepared you are, the better things are for us.” Melissa Kulesz of Tioga, a small town in Dallas County, used that notion to start her own business, Child Smart ID, last year. Kulesz collects information from parents and makes a credit card-like record. The card contains the child’s digital photograph and thumbprint, height, weight, eye and hair color, birthmarks, scars, any medical conditions and parents’ names and phone numbers. They won’t get torn, tattered or waterlogged if they go through the washing machine, Kulesz said. She also provides an electronic copy that can be sent to authorities elsewhere in the country. “Time is of the essence when you’re talking missing children,” she said. Kulesz, the mother of two, offers the cards mainly through schools, day-care centers and neighborhood meetings, and through school fundraisers. In July, Kulesz will be among hundreds of crime-prevention vendors and nonprofit organizations at the Texas Crime Association’s Summer Training Conference in Dallas. Child Smart ID is a member of the North Texas branch of the association, spokesman Deputy Sheriff Dickie Thomas said. It’s a good idea, Thomas said. Though abductions by strangers account for only a small number of missing children, those children run the greatest risk of injury or death, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice. Dearing says that such identification can minimize that risk. “The main thing is that kids change so quickly, and you have to keep their pictures updated when they grow and change their hair,” he said. “Look for the most recent picture of them — that’s what we need the quickest.” www.childsmartid.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN THE KNOW Crime prevention for children Make sure children know their full name, address and phone number. Be sure that children know how to use 911 and a pay phone. Teach children never to accept rides or gifts from people they do not know. Teach children to go to a store clerk, security guard or police officer if they get lost in a mall, store or on the street. Accompany children to the restroom. Show children safe places they can go in your neighborhood in an emergency, such as a trusted neighbor’s house. Inspect your neighborhood for areas that threaten children’s safety, such as brush in a wooded area, overgrown shrubbery or poor lighting. SOURCE: North Texas Crime Prevention Association http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14789573.htm