Storms, flooding, and other emergency situations are stressful and daunting. As parents, it's important to be properly prepared so we can ensure the safety of our family. Children should understand what to do when disaster strikes, too. That way, when the event actually occurs, they will stay calm, in control, and even help others around them. Relieve your children's fears and ensure they know exactly what to do when an emergency arises with these helpful tips from us, the experts.
Teach Your Kids about Emergency Preparedness
The proper education about emergency preparedness can instill in your kids the importance of staying safe during a serious situation. Along with teaching your children how to prepare for an emergency or disaster, the following tips can also help them stay confident in the face of a storm:
- Buy books that teach kids how to handle scary storms or other emergencies.
- Talk to your kids regularly about the goals you have as a family to deal with emergencies, including evacuation plans and preparing your home before a storm hits.
- Perform regular "practice runs" like home fire drills and mock storm evacuations that will get your children used to dealing with an emergency so if it ever happens, they'll be ready.
- Partner with your children's school and community leaders like your local police and fire department to implement programs that will educate kids about dealing with emergency situations.
Build Emergency Kits Together
Having a well-stocked emergency kit is a great way to make sure you have everything you need ready to go when disaster strikes. To begin creating your own emergency preparedness kit, follow these simple tips:
- Work with your children and build a kit together. They'll have fun coming up with things to include, and you can explain the importance of each item during an emergency.
- Include essential items in your kit like extra batteries, flashlights, non-perishable snacks, and toiletries.
- Prepare a first aid kit with your kids and include items like bandages, antibacterial ointment, burn cream, and aspirin.
- Have the family agree on a specific location where both your emergency kit and first aid kit will live. We recommend placing it by the front door so it's easy to grab at a moment's notice.
Play Online Games
Interactive games are an excellent way to educate children about important topics. Preparedness is no exception. Take a look at some of these interactive games shared by Michigan State University Extension to help your kids learn the importance of preparedness:
- Disaster Master focuses on natural disasters like hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, and more. Each level tells a story and asks the user which action they should take to survive the disaster.
- The Build-a-Kit game lets kids pick items from different rooms of the home to build a virtual emergency kit. At the end of the game, they can print a list of the items they've chosen to keep and use for their own kits.
- Disaster Hero is a fun game with a gameshow-like format. Kids can play against a natural disaster like a hurricane or flood to test their knowledge of preparedness and survival skills.
Find all these games and other free disaster preparedness games online so your kids can get inspired and encouraged to be better prepared for anything that comes their way.
