https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...omepage%2Fcard

DC is a safe city, a city millions of tourists visit without incident. But on March 3, it seems as though two men attempted to kidnap a child in a school group at the Air & Space Museum. An alert chaperone thwarted them.

I'm not posting this to scare anyone, but just to remind people as we approach the busiest tourist seasons in DC--spring break and summer holiday--to remain aware of their surroundings in crowded areas. The vast majority of people in museums and at monuments are happy tourists, but these are public spaces, still.

Anyone traveling with a group of kids needs to keep an eagle eye on them - and make sure they never let go of their partners.

I like the idea of taking a picture of your kids before you set out each day. That way, god forbid, if they get lost, you can show the police officer exactly what they look like and that photo can easily be disseminated. So much better than a parent reporting that little Johnny was wearing a sort of greenish blue shirt with a dinosaur...no, wait, was it a Transformer on it? And khaki shorts- or did he wear his denim shorts?

Such a fantastic tip. I wish I could remember where I heard it.

And for younger kids who might have a hard time retaining information - slip a piece of paper with your cell phone number on it inside one of their shoes.

Thanks, NewbE, for this unfortunately necessary information, to Hobbert and scrdreamer for specific ideas about things to do in advance, and to nytraveler for a reminder of what to do once on tour.

Wishing well to all the little ones, always!

When I was teaching and taking kids to museums like Natural History or the Metropolitan, we would pair the kids so they would be looking out for each other as well as having adult chaperons. Younger kids do need to have phone numbers on them as well.

When I was a kid in the DC area, we were taken to one museum or another at least once a year, sometimes twice, every year. I now look back and marvel at the intestinal fortitude of our teachers and chaperones! We all made it back in one piece, always...