A Family Night to Prepare Children for Emergency Situations

Learning how to save a life or prevent a tragedy is definitely one of the most rewarding activities that you and your family can do together. This can be done by setting aside a family night to discuss what should be done when faced with a danger or a health emergency. Do the children know how to call 911? Do they know the full address of your house? Some people think that discussing such events will scare the child. However, knowledge will help a child to maintain a cool head, when faced with dangers in the home and in public places.

Some of the main things that you may want to discuss in this special family night are break-ins, fire, choking and unconsciousness. Be specific about what you expect of them. Create scenarios and discuss how best to deal with them. But, most of all, stress calling 911 to get the proper help in a timely manner. Place a sign with 911 on it and your home address next to the phone.

Break-ins

When leaving the children home alone, the first thing they are told them is don't answer the door for anyone. But, do they know what to do if someone is trying to enter the home by force? Whether you are there or not, your children should know what measures to take if someone is breaking into the home. If you have an alarm, they should know how to activate the panic alarm. And most of the time, if a burglar is trying to gain access, turning on the outside lights and yelling out will scare them away. But, most of all, the children should be instructed to call 911, tell the operator exactly what is happening and then get to a hiding place.

Fire

Design an evacuation plan. Let the children know at what spot in the yard you expect them to meet up. Then, later have random drills. This will keep family members from trying to figure out who is out of the house and trying to rescue someone who is already outside. The point is to get out of the home as quickly as possible. Children may be able to put out a small fire with a fire extinguisher, but, you might want to discourage them from trying that. A fire can get out of control very fast, and a child just wouldn't be able to combat one and may get trapped inside the house. Instead, instruct the children to get low to the floor and follow the evacuation plan. Present alternative plans incase their path is blocked by the fire. Most homes have bars on the windows, but, there should be more than one window in the house that has bars which can be opened easily from inside the home. And by all means, don't have iron doors that can only be opened from the inside with a key. There have been too many horror stories about people who were trapped inside, because no one could find the key. Stressing that the main objective is to get out of the house is of the utmost importance. Children will try to hide from the fire or get the family pet or even look for you. But, if the evacuation plan is instilled in them, they will follow it.

Choking

Demonstrate ways to help a choking victim. You can show the children the universal sign for someone who is choking. When a person is choking, he will hold both hands to his throat. Other signs are watering eyes and their inability to communicate. Younger children should be instructed to get help and call 911 as soon as possible. Older children can help the victim by first asking the person is he choking, then, if so, applying the Heimlich Maneuver. At this point demonstrate the various ways that the child can help dislodge the object from the victim's throat. You can get complete information for the Heimlich Maneuver at the American Heart Association's website.

Unconsciousness

It is particularly important that your children know what to do if they find a person unconscious. First and foremost, they should know to get help. Call 911 and get an adult for assistance. Older children can be taught basic CPR. You can demonstrate the steps to follow in reviving a person who may be unconscious or suffering a heart attack. You can check out the American Red Cross Organization's website for basic CPR techniques. You can also check with your local Red Cross Organization or other local agencies on where CPR classes are being held. This is a good activity for the whole family.

Your children need a safe house, that is a neighbor who they know they can turn to in the event of an emergency. If you have such a neighbor, you may want to invite them over during this family night. That way the children will be more comfortable going to this person(s) in an emergency.

Because this is a special family night, you will want to make it as interesting to the children as possible. Create teaching games and buy special hats that they can wear to take on various roles. One might be a police officer, a nurse or a doctor. Get a some toy stethoscopes and doctor's bags with treats to reward them for giving you their full attention. Allow them to ask questions. Children have a way of coming up with questions that you would have never thought of. If presented with a question that you don't know, you can always get on the internet later and research the subject with the child. Be sure to write down that question and follow through with an answer.