DEAR ABBY: In regard to the letter from "Country Gal From Sacramento," who wrote about children wearing name tags while visiting a petting zoo, I submit this scenario:
One summer several neighborhood moms and I decided to take our children to Grant's Farm, a beautiful game preserve here in St. Louis. We wound up with four moms and 10 kids.
I had just finished sewing a brightly colored, striped sundress, so I wore it that day and gave each child a square of my dress fabric, which we safety-pinned to their shirts. You had better believe everyone could see immediately who those kids belonged to.
We had enjoyed the park for about an hour when an employee walked my 6-year-old up to me and said, "I believe he belongs to you." Abby, I hadn't even realized he was missing! But the incident had a happy ending, thanks to my method of keeping tabs on the kids. -- LOST AND FOUND MOM
DEAR MOM: Your solution was unique. As I stated in my original reply, the idea of small children walking around public places wearing name tags makes me uneasy.
P.S. Another reader suggested that when teachers take students on field trips, the teacher's name should be placed on the name tag, or the number of the bus that provided the transportation.