What to put on a school bag tag, and what to leave off
By the Tagwyse team · Last reviewed
Leave off your child’s full name and school: a stranger who reads them can call your child by name and sound like someone they know. The tag needs only one thing: a way for whoever finds your child, or the bag, to reach you quickly.
Why not the name and school?
A child is far more likely to trust a stranger who knows their name and school. Many parents in Sri Lanka write both on the bag in big letters. A first name inside the bag, where only your child sees it, does the job of telling bags apart without telling everyone else.
What the tag should do
- Let a finder reach a parent in seconds, at a bus stand, a station, a sports meet or on a school trip to Kandy or Anuradhapura.
- Work for anyone with a phone, with no app to download.
- Show the emergency numbers: 119 for the police and 1929 for the National Child Protection Authority.
- Not show your phone number to everyone the bag passes.
Teach your child three things
- If you’re lost, stay where you are, or go to the nearest shop counter, police officer or a mother with children.
- Show them the tag on your bag.
- Never go anywhere with someone who says they know your parents, even if they know your name.
School vans and trips
Give the school van driver and the trip teacher your number as well. A tag helps when the bag or your child ends up somewhere they aren’t expecting.
A school bag QR tag shows no name, school or number. Whoever finds your child scans it and sends you an urgent alert, which also arrives as a text message, even at night.
Questions people ask
- Does my child need a phone?
- No. The person who finds them scans the tag with their own phone.
- What if the bag is lost but my child isn’t?
- The finder can tap “I found this item” and tell you where they left it.