Travel ID tags for kids - free printable

The first time I had to travel abroad with my kids, I admit I was a bit stressed. English is not their first language, and while they do have some basic knowledge, they are by no means proficient. To add to that, English wasn't the first language of the country we were traveling to, which could be and additional difficulty. And finally, I would have to spend at least two days alone with both kids in a strange town. Compounded stress. 

My main concern was what would happen if they got lost in a crowd or if for any reason we were separated. Looking back at it now, maybe I was exaggerating, but at the time it seemed vitally important that they could have some sort of ID on them, with their parents phone numbers clearly stated.

So, I decided to design a couple of ID tags that I could fill in with the basic details - just names and phone numbers. In case something happened and if they couldn't communicate their troubles in any other way, they would just show their tags to an adult and hopefully we could be contacted swiftly. 

There's obviously and boy and a girl version of the tags:

I printed the tags, filled in the necessary details and then covered each tag in a soft, transparent self adhesive paper, for higher durability. Laminating works well too, but my oldest, who is convinced he's almost an adult by now, wanted to wear his tag underneath his t-shirt to keep it hidden, and so I needed to keep it as pliable as possible without risking it coming apart.

I punched a hole where indicated, added an eyelet, and inserted a piece of round elastic long enough to go through their heads and hang the tags around their necks. Here's how they looked like in the end:

 If you want to print and use these travel ID tags, download the file here.


Happy Thursday!