Get ready to actively participate in making your kids prepared for emergency situations! In this featured post from The Survival Mom, she explains how to show children skills they need to survive. ~ The Editors
If your kids go to school, they have undoubtedly participated in a school fire drill. Most bus riders have gone through a bus evacuation drill out the back emergency door. In 2015/16, 95 percent of American public schools conducted mock lockdown scenario student preparedness drills in classrooms.
But have you had a fire drill in your own home?
Have you talked about how and when to exit your car after an accident?
Do they know what to do in case there is a shooter at the mall?
Parents tend to TELL their kids what to do instead of SHOW them. We say that in case of fire, we will meet at the big oak tree across the street. What we don’t often do is show them how to actually get to that oak tree. We TELL our kids, “Don’t get in a car with strangers,” but we don’t SHOW them how to fight back if someone grabs them.
As children get old enough to be home or out in public on their own, these drills become even more important because they will not have you to give instructions in an emergency. We need to prepare them, using active drills, to protect and potentially save their own lives. Here are 8 emergency preparedness drills to practice with your kids.
Table of contents
House Fire
It’s early in the morning. The kids are still asleep and the sun is just starting to rise. I’ve woken to use the restroom but decide since I’m up, that it’s a great time for a drill.
I poke the test button for the smoke detector, go into my daughter’s bedroom, and yell, “FIRE DRILL! FIRE DRILL! FIRE DRILL!” She realizes what is happening and rolls out of bed. She hurries to the door and places her hand on it. “The door is hot!” I shout. She turns to the window, unlatches and opens it, removes the screen, and crawls out the window.
I then proceed to my son’s room. He feels the door for heat. “The door is not hot!” He grabs a shirt to cover his mouth, opens the door, and begins to low crawl down the hallway. He makes it all the way to the front door, unlocks it, and goes outside to our meeting point across the street where his sister is already waiting.
Continue reading, “8 Emergency Preparedness Drills to Do with Your Kids” from The Survival Mom here.
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
