Keep your Child Safe with Your Mobile Phone

August tends to be one of the busiest months for travel, both to local and out-of-town destinations, as families strive to enjoy the final month of summer vacation.

The City of Takoma Park issued a consumer advisory Friday with a simple and common sense tip for using technology to keep your children/grandchildren safe when travelling or attending events this summer (although it applies to the rest of the year as well):

Before departing with children/grandchildren/kids to any event, take a second, pull out your cell phone and take individual pictures of each child.  That way, if the unthinkable happens and a child gets lost, you have a picture of how they are dressed and what they looked like that day.

The photo can then be immediately sent to police to aid in locating the child.  Seconds can be precious in this scenario, so take a second, make it a habit and take a picture!

One note of caution: Some cell phones automatically “geotag” and upload photos to photo sharing sites, which can give stalkers and cyber-thieves information about where you live, or the fact that you are on vacation. Use this guide to disable this function on your smart phone.