Natural disasters and emergency situations happen every day. While we don’t want to scare our children from ever going outside, it’s important that they understand that something could happen. Teaching your children some emergency preparedness safety tips will help them feel safer. They will also feel more calm about what they need to do if an emergency arises. Go over these lessons with them several times. This will help them so that they have them memorized and will feel confident in executing them alone. Here are 4 emergency preparedness safety tips to teach your kids.
Emergency Preparedness Safety Tips for Kids
Think About Your Location
Different areas of the world have to worry about different emergencies or natural disasters. For example, people that live near the ocean will probably need to teach their kids about hurricanes. However, people that live somewhere that is land locked might not need to teach their kids about hurricanes. Think about the probability of each natural disaster occurring in the area you live in. Talk about earthquakes if you’re in an area where they are common. Or tornadoes if they happen frequently.
Make a Plan with Your Children
Have an emergency preparedness plan with your children. In case of a fire in the house, make sure they know where they can exit and where they should wait to meet you. In the case of a tornado, you can make a plan to meet in the basement. Make sure that each child knows when they should execute a specific plan. Then rehearse the plan so that they understand what to do. It’s also a good idea to make sure that they have some emergency phone numbers memorized. They can use these numbers in case they need to call someone for help.
Show Them the Emergency Food
Show your kids where you keep emergency food, water, and supplies or your food storage. This way they know where they can access it. Some families have emergency preparedness backpacks with everything each child needs inside. Explain to them which backpack is theirs and when they will need to come and take it. Do your best not to scare your children about the possibility of an emergency happening. But make sure they understand what’s expected of them and what they should do.
Have a Family Code Word
In certain situations, you might need help rounding your kids together. Maybe something happens in which you are unable to go pick up your children from school and need help to get them. It’s a good idea to have a family code word in this case. Your children should have been told the code word as part of their emergency preparedness training.
Benefits of Having a Code Word
This will help them know who they can trust. They won’t have to take someone’s word for it that their parents sent strangers to get them. Have your children memorize the code word and make sure they ask the person what the code word is before they ever get into a car. The person is someone that your kids can trust if they know the code word. This is why it’s also important to come up with a unique code word that someone couldn’t just randomly guess.
Summing Up
These emergency preparedness safety tips will help your children be prepared for any natural disaster that might come their way. They will feel comfortable and confident that they will do the right thing if an emergency were to arise. Practice your emergency preparedness training and safety plans often so that everyone feels comfortable knowing what they are supposed to do. This way everyone will be prepared for whatever may come their way.
