How to Prepare a Child for the First Class Trip

A child's first class field trip can be exciting for the child, but scary for the parents. Prepare your child for the first class trip so that he will be ready, he will be safe and your mind will be put at ease. A field trip is a great experience and your child will come home with a wonderful, educational memory that will last all his life.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Information about the trip
• Appropriate clothing
• Packed lunch/snack
• Phone number

Prepare Your Child Physically

1. Find out if you can attend the field trip. This is the optimal solution, since it will be the first trip. That way, you don't have to worry all day about your child and your child will be more comfortable having you there.

2. Dress your child according to the weather. Look up the weather on weather.com to see the hour-by-hour forecast. You may have to dress him in layers. If so, make sure to label items of clothing, such as sweaters, sweatshirts or coats so they don't get lost. Dress him in the brightest shirt he has so he can be easily located in a group.

3. Use sunscreen if she will be outside all day.

4. Prepare a lunch with disposable containers and utensils that he can eat with very little mess. Include a couple of wet wipes if desired so he can wipe his hands before and after he eats.

5. Make sure your child knows his phone number and address and has it memorized. If she has trouble remembering the phone number, or just to ease your own mind, write it down on a piece of paper and put it in her pocket or pin it on clothing you know she won't take off (not a coat or sweater).

Educate Him About Dangers

6. Make sure your child knows to always stay with the teacher or group leader and his class. He should never wander off on his own for any reason. If they all are wearing the same shirts, make him aware what color to look for if he is lost.

7. Have your child pick a close friend and have her stay with that friend if possible throughout the entire trip.

8. Prepare your child by educating him about strangers. Let him know what to do if someone he doesn't know tries to talk them into going somewhere else away from the field trip area.

9. Make sure he knows the safest people to approach if she gets lost such as looking for another parent. Someone with small children is the safest route. If there are no parents around, she can look for a group leader.

10. Don't stress him out about it. Make sure he is aware of dangers, but encourage him to have fun.

Tips & Warnings

• There are personal safety alert systems now available that kids can wear on their wrists like watches that help locate a child if that child is lost, such as those made by Onguard Kids.
• Make sure the school has your current phone number–-preferably a cell phone number--in case of emergency.
• John Walsh and Julie Clark have kids safety DVDs available entitled, "The Safe Side," which educates children about the dangers of strangers in a non-frightening manner.

Who Can Help:

• Better than Botox®? Free Kit

Resources

• Weather information
• Personal alert systems to keep your kids safe from strangers
• John Walsh and Julie Clark kids safety DVDs