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Parking Pal magnets to keep kids safe
Filed under: Places To Go, Siblings, Health & Safety: Babies
When I am out and about, I usually only have one child to keep track of. Loading up the car after a shopping trip is pretty simple - Ellie gets in first, followed by everything else. But for those with several little ones to corral, keeping one kid safe from traffic while you attend to another can be a challenge. Two mothers in Michigan have come up with a creative way to entice kids to stick close to the car and out of harm's way. It's a magnet shaped like a hand that you place on the side of your car. While you are strapping in the baby or otherwise distracted, the other kids are concentrating on placing their own little hands on the magnet hand. As long as they are touching the magnet, they can't move away from you.
Parking Pal magnets were born out of Denise Whitney's struggles keeping her own children safe. ''I thought there's got to be something better, something easier,'' she said. She and her mother, Dottie Daenzer, came up with this solution and now sell the magnets locally in Bay City as well as online.
While this wouldn't be a fail-safe way of keeping your kid from running out into traffic, it does give an easily distracted toddler a task to focus on and a more explicit instruction to follow than "don't move." Plus, Whitney says kids like it. ''The kids are kind of just drawn to putting their hand in the middle (of the magnet),'' she said.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-30-2007 @ 11:36AM
Rachel May said...That's just brilliant.
Reply
6-30-2007 @ 1:03PM
Sandyone said...This is an excellent product!
When I first read your topic title, I was picturing something to put on the kid that was magnetic and would stick him to the car. I could use a few of those, too!!!!
Reply
6-30-2007 @ 1:54PM
jpark said...Hee! I already do this with my 18 mo. old. When he walks out to the car in the morning, he has to stand still for a minute while I unlock the front door with the key so that I can press the button to unlock the back door to get him in his seat. I started telling him to "touch car" after he started running up to the walls in our house saying "touch wall". I have no clue where he got such an idea, but it's fun for him. Sometimes when I haven't washed my car, you can see his tiny handprints in the dust! It's so cute, I don't feel so bad about having a dirty car.
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6-30-2007 @ 2:52PM
Ann Adams said...Mine are past that but it would have been great when I had 3 under 5 and only one of me. Even two can be manageable. After that, I ran out of hands.
They learned quickly to keep one hand on the car but the magnets would have been fun.
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6-30-2007 @ 2:54PM
Ann Adams said...Mine are past that but it would have been great when I had 3 under 5 and only one of me. Even two can be manageable. After that, I ran out of hands.
They learned quickly to keep one hand on the car but the magnets would have been fun and simpler.
Reply
7-01-2007 @ 5:34AM
caitlin said...I don't know if the magnets would work for us long term, but I've found giving my 2.5 year old a puzzle that keeps him connected to me works great.
I have about 15-36 inches of ribbons of various widths and textures, along with a few hollow shaped wooden beads. One set of ribbon ends is stitched together (and reinforced several times) so that end has a small loop. I put that end on a carabiner. Then, before we leave, I braid about half the strands together, inserting beads randomly. I do a few very loose slipknots towards the end of the braided area.
My son loves figuring out how to get the beads and trying to put them back. When I need him not to wander off while I'm getting our dog in his carseat, I clip the carabiner on one of my belt loop and let him figure out how to get the beads. I use the shorter set for parking lots/lines and the longer set for when I'm stuck taking him with me when I go to the restroom.
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7-01-2007 @ 8:50AM
Sandyone said...Caitlin, that sounds really cool! Perfect for the checkout line, when toddlers tend to be the most wiggly/escapist.
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