My friend Liz Ditz of I Speak of Dreams sent me this link for iron-on labels after I noted concerns about Charlie wandering away and getting lost. Label-Land’s iron’s on labels are 100 for $9.99—-good thing; Charlie grows so fast he needs new clothes (pants and shorts, certainly, plus his arms are long) every season.
Another friend, Hsien Hsien Lei at Eye on DNA, noted another item, Toothprints, which (according to the manufacturer, Kerr Dentistry) can make a full bite impression to identify missing children. The manufacturer also claims that DNA can be extracted from the saliva left on the wafer, and that enough scent remains for a trained dog to detect a child by.
Not that we don’t work on teaching Charlie to “stay by mom and dad” and to keep a firm grip on his hand.
Labels have a nice crisp look to them, and we have one of those Make-it-yourself labelers (Eleanor likes typing in the name and helping with the process), but I might also recommend the low-tech Sharpie as a labeler for light items; you have some flexibility on the size of the writing, don’t have to worry about scorching items or labels peeling off, and the writing holds up pretty good in the wash (we marked swim towels years ago and even with the chlorine and hot washing, the name is still there).
Looks like you have to ask your dentist if s/he offers this or would be willing to order it for you.
Toothprints tutorial
Toothprints FAQ
THe two links about the toothprints are not working. I guess a google search is next.
[...] he is lost, just going to look at something. Making sure that Charlie has a bracelet or card or patch in his shirt with his name and our phone number is something we can do, but how to teach a child [...]
GREAT information! Thanks for sharing!
great products!
I bought labels with Patrick’s name and phone number on them. But I’ve never used them!! Maybe he’s just still young enough that I feel confident there’s always someone (or several someones) watching him…not that he couldn’t ever get away….*sigh* Off to label stuff.
Ok, since my mom is visiting, you know what one of her projects will be……
I ordered iron-on labels for both my children when they were in day care. I’ve since used it whenever Amigo goes to camp, and I put labels on a few of La Petite’s things (towels, blankets) when she went to college.
Depending on how many labels you need to make, you can also consider getting a label making machine. I just got one and bought a iron-on tape cartridge as well. A worthy investment since we’ve had fun putting our names on random stuff that ends up at school even just for show and tell.