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Mum shares clever balloon hack for keeping kids safe during day trips, Mirror

A mum-of-two has shared the parenting hack she swears by when out and about with her own young sons, and it could well help you find your little ones much faster should they get lost.



No parent wants to think about losing sight of their children during a fun family day out, but with summer on the way, many will be thinking of ways to keep an extra eye on their little ones during day trips.


Mum-of-two and confidence coach for kids Gemma Berg has now shared her go-to hack for keeping track of her "excitable" young sons while out and about in busy places, and claims it works like a charm.


Former primary school teacher Gemma, who now works one-to-one with children, thought up her tried-and-trusted balloon hack during a visit to an outdoor dinosaur show and has advised fellow parents to give it a go.


Gemma, who runs Peekaboo Learning, told the Mirror: "We were out at a busy dinosaur outdoor show some time ago, and I was very aware of keeping an eye on both boys as they were very excitable and keen to run off to look at the different dinosaurs.


"There was a balloon stand so we bought the boys a balloon each and I realised that we could see them very quickly and easily above the crowds of people by the bright coloured balloons floating high above everyone else.


She continued: "The boys were happy to hold them and I secured them with a little hairband, although they had already come with a bracelet to secure it so the hairband was an add-on just so it wouldn't come off.


"It worked really well and made me feel happy for them to run ahead a little bit more than I might usually feel comfortable with so many people around. It stopped them from getting lost in the large crowds as I could always see the balloons bobbing along up high!"


Gemma, 38, has also encouraged mums and dads to open up a discussion with their child about what they should do if they do end up getting lost in a public place.


Drawing inspiration from an incident she herself witnessed, where the child was thankfully quickly found, Gemma urged parents to get their children "to stand and scream 'I'm lost!'


Admitting that this hack does sound a bit "strange" at first, Gemma explained: "We were at Old MacDonald's Fun and Farm park. I was sitting with my two boys and husband when we heard a very disturbing high-pitched scream everyone was looking around to see what was going on.


"Then I saw a small little girl screaming. Firstly she was just screaming and then she screamed, 'I'm lost'. My husband and I later discussed how clever this was.


"It would most likely scare away anyone with the wrong intentions as she was making such a scene it attracted people like us with a family and other mums and dads that wanted to check she was okay and see how we could help.


"My husband bent down and said 'it's okay let's find mummy', and by then the parents were walking over as they too had heard the screaming and they were reunited."


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