So, I can't say preparing for an emergency is something that has always been a priority. In fact, it's something I just kind of disregarded. You know that thing we tell ourselves and the syndrome of "It will never happen to me." Yep, I fell right into that category until a few months back. For some reason and with all going on in the world these days, the little voice in my head told me to not be negligent, but also not to live in a state of 'fear'. I am far from what many would categorize as a 'prepper.' I can however rest easier knowing our family has spent the time discussing and training our children and putting into place some key puzzle pieces should any unfortunate event ever rear its ugly little head around our homes and in our lives.
First, let me preface what comes next with I personally have over 16 years of experience in hotel emergency preparedness for 24 hotels. I also have an extremely passionate brother who has 13+ years of Army military experience. Not to mention, great-grandpa is ex-military as well! You can imagine that all this experience made for a truly great and productive time!
What did we do? Well, first, we made this process fun and got the whole family involved. That's right, auntie, uncles, cousins, grandma, grandpa, and even great-grandpa! First, each adult was assigned a topic (examples: building a shelter, CPR, earthquake, fire - building a fire for warmth, extinguishing a fire, and what to do in the event of a home fire), first aid, stranger danger, and even a little self-defense (yes, you heard me right!). The adults were responsible for mastering their topic, preparing all hand-outs/activities for the children, and bringing all necessary props. It was so much fun to see what each person prepared and brought with them!
Second, we had an adult team meeting. It was important for us to instill nuggets each child could master based on their age-level and be cautious not to create a situation where our children might end up fearing 'what could happen.' To do this successfully, we divided the kids into three groups by age.
Third, we created separate topic training centers through-out our home. Based on the topic being covered, the length of time allotted for each topic, and the space required for the training, we assigned specific rooms (family room, garage, outside, bedrooms, etc.) and labeled each space accordingly. Each group would rotate through the classes.
Fourth, we had a family meeting to explain to the children what we were doing for "Family Emergency Day" and most importantly 'Why'. To incentivize them, we gave each one a clipboard, training agenda, pen, and red backpack. They were informed they must get each training signed-off by their Trainer by completing each session so they could participate in the graduation ceremony being held at the end of the day. Each adult was also armed with goodies (basic emergency supplies) to drop in each kid’s backpack as they completed their course. Let me just say, they loved carting around their backpacks and seeing their backpacks fill up!
Next, we got started on all the fun! Truth be told, I may have had more fun than the kiddos! I was so impressed with how we pulled off each training topic and mostly how the children responded. They were engaged, asking questions, and excited for what was to come next! Needless to say, all 7 children successfully passed and participated in our Family Emergency Day Graduation Ceremony, received their graduation certificate, and had filled their emergency backpacks with some basic supplies!
Images Below: Escaping a Fire, Creating a Fire, CPR, Learning How to Build a Shelter, Stranger Danger, and Locating Fall Hazards and the Best Safety Areas during an Earthquake
Images on the below Document: Fire Extinguisher Use, Outside Shelter Making, Self-Defense, and First Aid Supplies and Set-up
Graduation Ceremony!
Phew! We did it and had loads of excitement through-out the process!
I'm not going to lie; a fair amount of preparation went into this day. Here is what we did:
Ordered red emergency drawstring reflective backpacks from Amazon. We ordered 1 per adult and 1 per child.
Purchased basic emergency supplies from the Dollar Store. These included: activity for each person to do (playing cards, crossword puzzles, coloring books, etc.), pencils, body soap, flashlight, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, shampoo, socks, tissue pack, toothbrush, toothpaste, snacks, and lemonade powder to add to water bottles. Each child and parent were responsible for adding a set of clothing, water, and anything else to their backpacks.
Put together materials for each training class and placed them on individual clipboards for each Trainer.
Created training agenda/sign-off sheets for each child and added to their individual clipboards with pens.
Created signage for each training class and placed them either on the room wall or room door. See the previous picture.
Created graduation certificates for each child.
Purchased Lifesavers and Smarties to give to each child along with their graduation certificate to signify they are now little 'Lifesavers' and emergency preparedness 'Smarties.' See the previous picture.
Prepared fire extinguishers and all training props for the big day!
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Be blessed!
Tia
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