Children and Youth Preparedness

2/9/2022 (Permalink)

Children and Youth Preparedness for disasters and emergencies of all kinds.

Preparing for a disaster as an adult can be overwhelming and taxing, especially if you have children to factor into all of your decisions.

If you plan ahead, you can involve your children in all of the steps that need to be taken. The more prepared your child is, the less anxiety they will feel if an emergency or disaster occurs.

Let's start with the basics

• Teach your child how to dial 911 BEFORE an emergency and show your child the steps for calling 911 on your mobile phone.
• Make sure your child can say his/her first and last name clearly and provide his/her address or location.
• Teach your child to identify a location by buildings, signs or other landmarks. Some 911 centers cannot automatically locate a caller.
• Most of us now have cell phones with us wherever we go, which is great in an emergency situation ,but ,most of us have lock screens on our phones for security, as we should. It's important to teach your children how to unlock your phone in the case of an emergency.
• Go over your mobile phone's keypad several times to help your child become familiar with making a call.
• Have your child practice making a phone call from your mobile phone by calling a family member or friend. Remember not to actually call 911 with your child, unless it's an emergency.

Having people set up as your "emergency contact" is very important. Who’s your emergency contact? Make sure the kids know who it is and how to contact them. Pick the same person for each family member to contact. Pick someone out of town as they may be easier to reach in a disaster.

Make an emergency plan with your family and make sure that your emergency contact and school know the plan in case your child is in school when a disaster occurs.

Things to consider when making a plan

• Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area.
• Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated.
• Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.

Practice, practice, practice!

Have an emergency kit ready for your child. Include medications that your child takes as well as some comfort items such as stuffed animals, board games and books.

Get kids involved in building their own emergency kit! Make it a family activity or part of a game and explain how the kit and the items in it will help them.

For a more detailed list of items that should go in your kit, follow this helpful link: Build A Kit

Let's stay prepared! 

#YouthPrep #ReadyKids