Teaching Your Children about an Emergency Situation

As parents we never want to think about an emergency situation becoming a reality. From natural disasters to home break-ins, these are all scary thoughts, but they happen every day. The most important thing you can do for your children is to prepare them for an emergency situation, just in case it ever does happen. Here are the steps to take to make sure your children are prepared if an emergency is to ever happen.

Help Them Understand

The first thing you should do is teach them about how to handle an emergency situation and make sure they know the correct information to contact help. They need to know when to dial 911 and make sure they know how to use the phone. They need to know their address and if the child is old enough, make sure to teach them about any allergies they have or for anyone else is in the household. If they know all of this information and an emergency happened to you or another parent or guardian, they will be well informed in knowing what to do.

Teach your children the difference between a problem and a true emergency. You do not want them to think every little fall or cut is a need to call 911. They can become confused easily, so make sure that you sit down and talk to them about the differences and when it is necessary to call 911. Practice 911 calls with your child by pretending to call 911 on a play phone. Make sure they know what to tell the dispatcher and know all contact information the dispatcher may need. Practice this several times so that you know they have it down and can handle it if they needed to on their own.

Taking Action

Teach them the basics of first aid. Children should know how to at least apply a bandage and older children can be taught CPR and other basics to first aid. CPR lessons can begin when the child is ten or older, this is the age in which all children should be taught how to correctly perform it. In an event of an emergency, this could be the difference in life or death. Another thing to think about is home security. There are many different options for home security systems and most can be controlled with your smart phone. If you have one in the house, teach your child how to use this as well.

Having a home evacuation plan is one of the most important things you can do for you and your family. In case of a fire, natural disaster, or break-in, an evacuation plan will help everyone know what they are supposed to do and where to go. Teach your child the path to take to exit the house and different alternative scenarios in case the certain path is blocked. Practice this routine with them several times, and make sure you go over it a few times a year to refresh their memory. You can also draw a map and write down what the child needs to and let them study it. Keep it in a safe place to use in the future.

Natural Disasters

Talk to your child about natural disasters that can happen in your area. You don’t need to teach them about hurricanes if you don’t live in an area where this can occur. Talk to them about tornadoes and severe thunderstorms and what to do in a situation that needs action. They will be able to better protect themselves if they know ahead of time what to do and understand what natural disasters can do to the planet.

Lastly, offer your child some reassurance. Do not let them think that an emergency situation is something that is definite and that it will happen to them. Tell them that they should be okay because you are teaching them what to do in an emergency situation. Let them understand that since they are prepared and know what to do, that everything should be okay. It’s not a bad thing to be scared, even as adult’s natural disasters and the like are all scary events and nobody wants to experience them. Your children will be better prepared if you teach them the above steps and your family will be well prepared for an emergency.