No one wants to imagine themselves in emergencies. Especially if one happens in front of your children. Not only do you have to worry about yourself, but you have to try to keep your child calm as well.
This is difficult if you are unconscious and alone with your child. Teaching them how to respond in an emergency is a life lesson that will give them excellent coping skills.
I injured my knee a couple of years ago in front of my teenager daughter and she’s still traumatised by it. I wish I’d had the forethought to teach her how to be calm in a crisis and how to respond in an emergency.
We hear stories of kids all the time being ‘hailed as heroes’ for their quick thinking when their parents, or someone they know, has an emergency. So, here are some tips on how to teach your child what to do in an event of an emergency.
It’s better to have the knowledge and not need it, than need it and not have it.
1. For all emergencies, teach your kids how to call triple zero.
Teaching kids to call 000 can be done in a few simple steps:
Teach them what an emergency is.
Talk to them about medical emergencies, crime emergencies, fire emergencies and accidental emergencies. Reiterate the point that calling 000 can help someone get assistance faster.
Teach them how to use the phone.
If you have a landline, teach them how to use it. But also teach them how to use your mobile phone, especially how to bypass the lock to call 000 (if you lock your phone). Again, reminding them this is ONLY for emergencies.
Teach them the actual number
We say ‘triple zero’ but for kids, that can be confusing. Get into the habit of saying ‘zero, zero, zero’ when teaching them what to do.
Teach them your contact details
Your address and phone number are the two most important things to teach them besides 000 and if they have a medical condition like allergies, asthma, epilepsy, etc.
Role play or use helpful apps.
Get some pretend phones and play a game with your child with different types of emergencies –medical, police and fire – and have them ‘call 000’ and you act as responder. Give them basic instructions and see how well they follow them. You can also use apps like 000 Trainer App or 000 Kids Challenge.
2. In water emergencies, teach your kids how to swim
If you haven’t taught your child how to swim, now is your sign to look into it. We live on an island surrounded by water. Water activities are part of our kid’s school lives. Who still remembers swimming carnivals? I know I do. And you, a family member, or a friend might have a pool. It takes a split second for an emergency to happen. So, teach your kids how to swim. Find an instructor who can teach them how to react in an emergency. Like, how to calm their brain and float on their back until help arrives. Or how to signal for help for them or someone near them.
3. When they are lost, teach your kids how to find a ‘safe person’
I remember waking up on a Saturday morning, watching cartoons while eating cereal and then taking my bike, with my brother in tow, and not seeing my mum again until dinner time.
We are more cautious as parents now, but sometimes kids just wander off, especially when they notice your attention is elsewhere, like with the another one of your children. They’re little escape artists!
Teach them how to tell if a person is safe to approach when they are lost and looking for you. If you go to a store or shopping centre, agree on a place, preferably near the front, that they can go to and wait at if you get separated. Give them a keyring fitted with a location tag if you’re going to a crowded, busy place like a zoo or a festival.
4. In fire emergencies, teach your kids the fire escape route
Teach them how dangerous fire is and how to react if one starts.
‘Stop Drop and Roll’ and ‘Get Down Low and Go, Go Go’ are mantras I still remember from school and they are good ones because heat and smoke rise. Teaching them to get down low and crawl to safety can be lifesaving.
Practice an escape route and have fire drills to keep everyone up to date with what to do and where to go. Show them how the smoke detector works and what to do if they hear it.
Teach them to immediately go to a grown up if they find matches or lighters on the ground. Stress its important they do not touch them but get an adult.
5. If a stranger approaches them, teach your kids not to trust ‘tricky people’
It’s a terrifying thought that someone might approach your child with ill intentions. We’ve all seen news stories of this happening to children.
Instead of teaching ‘stranger danger’ because, one day they may need to rely on the kindness of one, teach them about ‘tricky people’. When my kids were little, they had six people they could name that they trusted. I used their hand and, in their palm, was me, and then each of their fingers was another person at home or school that they trusted.
Teach your kids to find one of these safe adults and to never get into a car with someone they don’t know.
Develop a family password for the day and if you don’t pick them up, only someone with the password can.
If possible, enrol them in self-defence classes.
No parent wants to think about the worst happening to their child, or that their child will be faced with dealing with an emergency at a young age. But kids are more resilient than we give them credit for, and some just-in-case preparation can build their confidence and lessen your fears.
