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Tagging Our Children
A Simple Way to Protect Our Kids
In the course of a year, one-third of 100,000 emergency room patients are unable to give fast, accurate medical or emergency contact information. It was this exact situation that caused Fernau to vow to give parents and their children a way to stay connected in any situation.
"My own son was hurt in an accident and waited in the emergency room for two hours before I was contacted," says Fernau. "If he would have had personal identification, we could have been called immediately. I felt sick knowing I could have spared him the trauma of waiting for what must have seemed like an eternity. That's why I started Who's Shoes ID."
In 2001, six months after this incident, Fernau quit her job, mortgaged her home and started making Who's Shoes ID tags. The "Child ID Challenge" grew out of the need to educate parents about the imprtance of personal identification for their children. It is the essential partner piece to child ID cards that parents should carry with them at all times.
"The testimonials we receive are emotional and amazing," says Fernau. "One mother who lost her 3-year-old daughter at the zoo was terrified that she'd never see her again. Her 6-year-old son thought the bears had eaten her. Relief was quick when a woman called the mother on her cell phone to ask if she was missing a child. The mother was relieved that the Who's Shoes ID band worked, and the daughter was proud that she remembered her ID like she had practiced with her mother."
The Who's Shoes ID tag is a simple yet bright Velcro strip that slips through a shoe's laces, around a strap or even on a bathing suit. Using permanent ink, parents can write their child's name, phone number, physician information and medical conditions on the inside of the strap, which is hidden when the tag is attached to the shoe. On the outside, it says "Who's Shoes ID" so a person who finds a lost or missing child knows to look inside for emergency information.
Personal ID is an everyday essential. There are several options available. An ID that is simple to use like Who's Shoes ID that attaches to something that is attached to a child is best, as it goes everywhere the kids go.
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