How I Finally Stopped Worrying About Pickpockets at Theme Parks

It was the Saturday before school started back up, the last real summer day we had, and I had taken Mia and Owen to the water and ride park about two hours from our farm. I had been promising them that trip since May. I packed snacks, I remembered sunscreen for once, and I was determined to have a good day. But about forty minutes in, while we were waiting in line for the log flume, I felt someone bump into me from behind. It was nothing. A kid running past, most likely. But I grabbed my purse with both hands anyway, and my heart was going for a good ten seconds before I settled down. That little jolt of panic is the whole reason I ended up switching to an anti-theft sling bag, but I am getting ahead of myself.

That moment stuck with me. The whole rest of the day I kept one hand on my bag. We were at a place I had paid a lot of money to enjoy, and I spent a solid chunk of it gripping my purse like it owed me something. When we got in the car for the drive home, Mia asked why I kept holding my bag on the rides. I did not have a great answer for her.

The purse I had was a regular open-top shoulder bag. Wide enough that a person standing close behind me could have had a hand in it and I probably would not have noticed in a crowded line. My phone was in there. My credit card. My license. Everything. And I was carrying it on my shoulder in a place where thousands of strangers were pressed up against me all day. Looking back, that was not smart.

When I got home I started looking at what other traveling moms were doing. I found the SPAHER Anti-Theft RFID Sling Bag, and it looked like exactly what I needed. It sits against your back or chest as a crossbody, the main zipper is against your body so nobody behind you can reach it, there is a hidden pocket on the back panel for your cards and ID, and the whole thing blocks RFID signals so a skimmer cannot grab your card info just by standing near you. Over 2,700 people have reviewed it on Amazon and it holds a 4.5 out of 5. I ordered it the same night.

I had paid a lot of money to enjoy that day, and I spent a solid chunk of it gripping my purse like it owed me something.

We went back to that same park about six weeks later, a birthday trip for Owen. I wore the SPAHER sling bag crossbody with the zipper facing toward me. My phone and wallet went in the hidden back pocket. Sunscreen and snacks went in the main compartment. And for the first time in a long time, both of my hands were actually free the entire day. I held Owen's hand through the crowded food court. I caught Mia when she jumped off a low ledge near the splash zone. I did not think about my bag once.

The bag itself is lightweight, so I forgot I was wearing it after about twenty minutes. The adjustable strap let me move it to my chest when we were in dense crowds, and back around to my side when we were walking. It held my phone, both kids' snack bags, our sunscreen stick, my cards, and my lip balm without feeling stuffed. It is not huge, but for a park day where you are not hauling a stroller bag, it is the right size.

The RFID blocking is one of those features I hope I never have to think about, but I am glad it is there. We went through Chicago last fall on our way to visit my parents, and we used the subway. I kept my transit card and credit card in the hidden pocket and never had to dig for them. The SPAHER's hidden pocket zips flat against the back of the bag. Nobody walking past me is getting into that pocket without me knowing.

I will say the bag does not look like anything fancy. It is simple and clean, which is actually what I wanted. I did not want something that screamed tourist or looked expensive enough to be worth targeting. It just looks like a regular everyday bag, which is kind of the point.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you are going to a theme park this summer, or flying anywhere with your kids, or even just walking around a city you do not know well, think about what you are carrying and how you are carrying it. A regular shoulder bag in a big crowd is genuinely risky, not because everyone is out to get you, but because pickpocketing in crowded tourist spots is common enough that it pays to make yourself a harder target. The SPAHER sling bag is under twenty dollars. It is not a big investment. And after two trips with it, I can tell you it changes the way you move through a crowded place. I am not gripping anything. I am not checking my pockets. I am just there with my kids, which is what I showed up to do. If you want to read more about the security features in detail before buying, my full review of this bag covers everything. You can also check out the reasons I now carry an anti-theft bag on every trip we take. But honestly, if you are already thinking about it, the current price on Amazon makes it a pretty easy call.