Include Children

Even before children can speak, involve them in drills and model preparedness behavior. Make sure your home is a safe place.

• Keep smoke alarms in working order.
• Do a hazard hunt, and secure items that could fall during an earthquake.
• Have a "go bag" ready in case you need to evacuate. Include feeding and diapering supplies. Visit the Gather Supplies page for guidance. 

As children grow older, start talking to them about how to stay safe.

• Teach them where to go if they get lost and how to call for help, including how to call 9-1-1. Keep emergency phone numbers where everyone can find them, such as on the refrigerator.
• Help them understand that firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and other emergency officials are there to help them.
• Teach them how to recite their name, their parents' name(s) and phone number(s), and their home address.
• Discuss your family emergency plan. Make sure they know all of your emergency contacts and would feel safe going home with them if you aren't available. Don't forget to talk to your emergency contacts regularly so they also know the plan! 
• Let them help create a family “password” or phrase to prevent them from going with a stranger.
• Let them help test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Let them help change the batteries when needed. Discuss what to do if the alarms go off, and practice evacuating the house. Model good behavior - don't teach them to ignore alarms!
• Explain that sometimes nature provides “too much of a good thing,” like fire, rain, or wind. Talk about what could happen during a storm, like the lights not working. Practice finding your emergency supplies in the dark!
• Teach them to drop, cover, and hold on during an earthquake. Then practicing leaving the building and following your family emergency plan. Walk to your meeting spaces and check on your emergency kits. Have fun with it and do it at least twice a year.
• Let them help with a hazard hunt in your home.
• Get them their own backpack and have them assemble a kit for themselves. It should include your family emergency plan, supplies, and a comfort item.

Keep engaging them in discussions and activities.  

• Challenge them to memorize your out-of-area contact info.
• Talk about the science and history of natural disasters. Learn about the hazards in your area.
• Teach them to use an AM/FM radio, a NOAA weather radio, and an FRS or GMRS radio.
• Help them see the value (and fun) of outdoor survival skills.
• Show them where the fire extinguisher is and how to use it.
• Show them where gas and water shut-off valves are located. Teach them how to turn off utilities. See the earthquakes page for more information.
• Test your family's emergency kits by not using power or water from the tap for 48 hours. Talk to your kids about how you can improve your emergency kits based on what you learned.
• Let older kids with phones download preparedness apps, such as the Red Cross First Aid & Emergency apps, the FEMA app, and MyID - Medical ID Profile.
• Older kids can get trained in CPR/First Aid, Babysitting, Wilderness First Aid, Community Emergency Response Teams, Search and Rescue, Amateur Radio, etc.
• Ask what they've learned at school. Sometimes they know more about this than we do!

Visit Parents4Preparedness for more info and resources, including recommendations for books, games, and other educational activities.