Daily Preparedness

Among the nightmares that can keep parents awake at night and vigilant during the day are the many ‘what if?’ scenarios our minds can imagine or those that we never imagined but face unexpectedly. For instance, ‘What if I am suddenly disabled while at home with my young children?’ or ‘What if I am in an accident and no one is at home after school?’ or ‘I don’t want to wake the baby in order to run to the store, leaving my 10-year-old in charge, and an accident occurs?’ or ‘What if my child is frightened by a babysitter?’…..and the list goes on and on and on!

Though no one is going to be able to imagine every possible scenario (or if they do they might just go nuts), but we can all take sensible steps to prepare ourselves, our homes and our children for the vast majority of ‘what if’ occurrences that we may face. And so, without further ado, here are the Top Ten things every parent should do to prevent or mitigate the damage of many childhood ‘what ifs’:

The first and foremost rule should be to child-proof your home. Take common sense precautions to keep medications and dangerous items out of your child’s reach. There are plenty of online and printed resources to help you effectively and inexpensively prevent accidents within your home!  Don’t neglect the outside of your home either. Be certain that play equipment is safe, well maintained, that protective equipment such as bike helmets are used and that your children ALWAYS utilize safety restraints in a moving vehicle!

Secondly, keep your home organized in a way that reduces accidents and would allow anyone attempting to help you or your children find what is needed. Keep phones where you can find them–many families ‘lose’ their cordless phones countless times a day.

Third, post a list of critical phone numbers very close to your main phone. If you live in a multi-story home, keep a list on each level. Program your phone to speed dial work numbers, a trusted neighbor and cell phone numbers for yourself, your spouse and a close family member or trusted friend. Keep the critical numbers in the first few numbers so that your child will be able to understand that all they need to do is dial 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 to get help.

Fourth, teach your child to dial 911 as soon as they are able to. Teach them carefully that this is for emergencies, what an emergency is and roll play calling these special ‘heroes’. Be sure to teach them that once they dial 911, not to hang up but to talk to the hero on the other end of the phone. As soon as possible, teach your child their full name. After they memorize that, add the city the live in and their parent’s name. Next comes their address and phone number.

Fifth, teach your children that any time they feel uncomfortable with someone or something that is going on, they should call you or anyone on the speed dial list. Do not dismiss their feelings of uneasiness, fear or trepidation. Children often have an uncanny ability to sense when they are in danger. Allow them to attempt to verbalize why someone makes them uncomfortable, why they are afraid of someone or what makes them uneasy. They may not be able to tell you precisely, but listen to them carefully and do your own further research. Listen to your children, talk them daily and keep the lines of communication open.

Sixth, be certain that you know the applicable laws for leaving children alone or under the care of another child. In many localities, it is ILLEGAL to leave a child under the age of 12 alone. In some counties, children must be 7 years old to be left alone in their own backyard. Every jurisdiction has ordinances or laws regarding children left alone at home, in a car, playground, park or public building. If you break these laws, you risk fines, prosecution and supervision of all the way to removal of your children by child protective services. At any age and regardless of local law, be certain that any child you leave alone is well trained in safety procedures, how to use the phone, who to open the door to, what to do and not to do, is responsible and well prepared to deal with what could happen. Any child left to supervise other children (again know your local ordinances!) should be mature enough to supervise, protect, control, appropriately discipline and react to any emergency that may occur.

Seventh, teach your children who they can turn to for help. If no one is home, what do they do? You might consider providing your child with a key to your house (if they meet the criteria above) to be used in emergencies. At the least, identify neighbors that they can turn to for help. If they walk home, identify ’safe houses’ along their path. Consider giving your child a simple, pay-by-the-minute or prepaid cell phone for emergencies. Don’t forget to teach them who to turn to if they are lost in a mall, at church or other public place.

Eighth, when you leave your child with a sitter that you have thoroughly checked out, be sure to talk to your child afterwards. Encourage them to tell you what they did while you were gone, how they liked the sitter and if they would like the sitter to return. Teach your children that they can call you at any time! Don’t hesitate to call home while you are gone, speaking to your child or return home unexpectedly.

Ninth, teach your children how to evacuate in the case of a fire. Have an outdoor meeting point that the entire family will run to if they leave the home.

Tenth, teach your children basic ’survival skills’. In addition to dialing the phone, teach them how to lock the doors, have them visit the fire station for fire safety training, take them to meet McGruff the crime dog and learn from him, teach them to prepare simple food for themselves, and basic first aid. Get them swim lessons, CPR, babysitting training (even if they aren’t going to babysit because these courses usually cover basic 1st aid, etc.) Encourage participation in scout programs that teach valuable skills. Teach them to pick up after themselves. Help them develop self-confidence in their abilities, skills and talents! These can all be fun activities that do NOT instill fear in children.

Though we cannot prevent all unfortunate accidents, disasters or injury, these few consistently applied principles will prevent many tragedies and help mitigate those that we cannot stop!