Disaster can strike anywhere at anytime, including when your kids are away from home during school hours. While we typically imagine preparing at home for any number of emergencies, it’s important to think about the possibility that some of your family members might be not be home when things go sideways. Here are some tips for preparing your kids for an emergency at school.
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Whether it’s a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, mass shooting, a nuclear threat, or any number of other potential hazards, more and more people are learning the importance of being prepared for anything in this volatile world.
But the focus on preparedness is still placed firmly on the home. “Preppers” typically concentrate on building up their supplies at home and on being ready to bug in of bug out if needed. And even if you don’t consider yourself a prepper, it’s still recommended that you have at least 72 hours (3 days) worth of emergency food and supplies to help get you and your family through an emergency.
The problem with all of this is that it’s based on the assumption that you and your family will all be together if and when disaster does strike.
What if your kids are at school when the worst happens?
While some of us are lucky enough to be home with our kids or be homeschooling them, many of us work outside the home and/or have children in public or private schools or daycare. Imagine a catastrophe happens while your children are away from you at school or daycare. How do you prepare them (and yourself) for this scenario?
As a former teacher as well as a mother, homesteader, and shameless “prepper,” emergency preparedness at school has always been top of mind for me. After all, my eldest is at school for at 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Odds are relatively high that she could be at school if and when an emergency happens.
When I was a teacher, I knew I needed to be prepared to care for my students in an emergency, and I hope that you can count on your children’s teachers to do the same. Nevertheless, there are steps you can take as a parent to help prepare your kids for an emergency at school. Here 6 things you can do to prepare your kids for an emergency at school
1. Know Your School’s Emergency Protocols
All schools have a certain protocol that they follow in the event of an emergency. Find out what it is.
Where on the school grounds do students and teachers meet if they need to evacuate? What do they learn to do in drills? What is the protocol for different emergency scenarios (ie. fire, earthquake, flood, school intruder, etc.)? How will parents be contacted/make contact with their children in the event of an emergency? What type of emergency supplies are kept at the school? Which staff members have First Aid training?
Knowing your school’s emergency protocols will empower you and your children as you’ll know what to expect and can discuss this more at home with your kids. It will also give you peace of mind knowing there are competent staff members ready to care for your children in an emergency. And of course, if you have any concerns, this should allow you time to address them before something does happen.
2. Have Your School’s Information Handy
Along with knowing your school’s protocol, you should definitely have all of the school information handy in case you need to reach someone in an emergency or send help. What is the office phone number? What’s the address? What’s the name of the principal, teachers, secretary, etc.
Have this information printed out and stored somewhere that’s easily accessible. This is especially important if the power goes out and you’re not able to access the internet, but can still use your cell phone. An emergency binder is a good place to store important information like this.
Also, know your children’s schedules. What time does school begin and end? What time is recess, lunch, P.E., etc. Also, if you have high school-aged children who move around to different classes throughout the day, it’s important to have a copy of their schedule so that you know what class they are in at any given time.
Having a copy of the school map is also a great idea, especially for large schools with lots of students. This can make it easier to find your child and/or to direct them to a safe place in the event of a disaster or attack.
3. Talk to Your Children About Possible Emergency Scenarios
It’s important to talk to your kids about the likelihood of various scenarios as well as what to expect and how to react in each one. Depending on your child’s age, the way you talk to them and the information you share might differ.
You should be careful not to scare your child or make them worry too much, especially if they are young. This can cause anxiety and fearfulness, so be careful how you approach this topic.
On this note, it is also important to mentally prepare your children for how to react in an emergency. Tell them to breathe and stay calm. Count backward from 10 if they are starting to panic. Go over how to mentally handle things like a shooting or being trapped in an earthquake. Staying calm can be the difference between life and death sometimes.
Go over different emergency scenarios and best responses (as well as back up plans) for each of your children. Also, let them know what you will be doing on your end if disaster strikes. This can help ease their mind if they can’t get in contact with you right away as they will know you are working to get them home to safety as quickly as possible.
4. Teach Your Children How to Call For Help
Whether your children are at school, at home, at a friend’s house, or anywhere in between, it’s important that they know how to call for help if needed, or how to have a trusted adult get in touch with you. Teach them your phone number, and consider writing it inside their jacket or backpack if they’re younger. Also be sure to teach them how to dial 911 in an emergency, being sure to explain the types of emergency scenarios when 911 might be necessary.
If your children are old enough, you may want to consider getting them a phone of their own. While I do not recommend smart phones at school for kids younger than high school-aged for many reasons, you might consider a basic phone that can be used in an emergency.
5. Pack an Emergency Kit for Each of Your Children
At the school where I used to work, we kept our own emergency supply and First Aid kits on site, but we also asked that parents pack a Ziplock-sized emergency pack for each of their children. We keep these together in our classroom emergency kit.
In each kit, parents are asked to pack a snack, a juice box, a game and a letter from them to their child. This kit is meant to help comfort children in the case of an emergency.
Parents should also provide teachers with Epipens, prescription medications, and any other specialized medical supplies and information for each of their children. Children should also know how to safely take or self-administer their medications and how to access them if for some reason a teacher is unable or unavailable to help them (like if they are unconscious, etc.).
6. Enroll Your Children in a First Aid Course
If you really want to empower your kids to take care of themselves and each other in an emergency (either at home or at school), I highly recommend enrolling them in a First Aid course.
Some schools offer First Aid programs as part of Phys Ed. at a certain age. But even if they do get this training at school, if you can enroll them in a private course it certainly doesn’t hurt them to get more practice.
An important part of self-reliance and emergency preparedness is to prepare to care for yourself in any situation and not rely on others to take care of you. While school staff are responsible for your children while they are at school, you just never know what could happen that could render staff unable to help or reach your child in an emergency. Also, if many people are injured, it could take a while for your child to get help.
Knowing First Aid also empowers your children to care for their peers should they need medical help. There’s really no downside. Check Google or local listings to find a First Aid course near you.
From one parent to another…
At the end of the day, it’s your responsibility as a parent to help prepare your kids for an emergency at school, at home, at daycare, or anywhere else. Teachers and principals do their best to prepare kids with regular drills and conversations at school, but as a parent, you have a special opportunity to prepare them much more thoroughly and frequently than teachers do with limited time and lots of other students and distractions to attend to.
As we head into the start of another school year, my best advice is not to wait to prepare your kids for an emergency. After all, preparedness only works if it happens before something bad happens. So don’t put this one off. It might just be the most important thing you ever do.
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