Survival Guide for Moms

[ravinlunachick]

No, I'm NOT talking about the "Oh, I'm so stressed!" sort of thing. I'm talking about actual life and death scenarios.

 

The Aurora shooting spurred this post, but it's something I think about from time to time. I'm often out and about with my 3 kids without dh or another adult. What if we were caught in an emergency situation? I am a planner by nature, so I take comfort in thinking of worse-case scenarios and how I would respond. I feel better with a plan, IOW.

 

What is the safest--read: most survivable---way to react in the following situations when accompanied by small children? FWIW, I do not carry a weapon, nor will I anytime in the near future, as I could not be certain my ds would leave it alone. You can also assume I would call 911 as quickly as possible.

 

a) Gunman in a indoor setting (I do know to hit the floor, and to run in a zigzag or unpredictable manner. Getting the kids to do that is the tough part!)

 

b) Van submerged in water after an accident--3 kids in carseats, only 1 of whom can free herself; none of the kids can swim. I don't know how to swim underwater.

 

c) Bear encounter--we go hiking and camping in the woods quite often, and although dh is always with us on those trips, we do sometimes find ourselves separated for a short while. Also, there have been bear sightings out and about in town for the past few years, due to destruction of their habitat. It's easy to stay indoors if we're at home, but what if we're at the park or far from a building?

 

 

For the record, I realize these are all statistically highly unlikely to happen. Like I said, I find it comforting to have some idea what to do, even though I'm not lying awake at night thinking of these things. I haven't been successful finding anything online. If you know of any useful sites or books (or can give your own tips), please share!

[Hypatia.]

It doesn't have anything to do with those scenarios, but we do keep an emergency kit in the back of the van. It used to be in a Sterilite box, now it's in one of those vacuum space bags under the back seat. It has at least 72 hours (more, including snacks) worth of food for the 6 of us, emergency shelter and blankets, fire starter, emergency water filter. We also keep bottles of water in the back (though I think we've gone through these from routine use), first aid supplies and everyone has a spare set of clothes in a small ziploc bag (or bags for the bigger ones) under their seat. We go on a lot of day trips and go up to the mountains frequently, one of my fears was always getting stuck somewhere for a few days.

 

The van submerged underwater has always been a fear of mine too. I have one of the emergency glass breakers, but I've never tested it on anything and it's in the junk drawer in the kitchen, where it does absolutely no good. Only DS1 would be able to unbuckle himself.

[Carpe]

I have no idea for A)

 

B) You need to keep a window breaker/seatbelt cutter combo in the glove box. In case of submerging, open glove box remove tool, cut belts, break window. As quickly as possible. If you're fast enough you may not be entirely underwater.

Have you taught your kids to kick off the bottom of the pool if they sink? The technique is the same, just use the side of the van. If you can't tell which way is up, you need to hold your breath and wait for a couple seconds to regain your sense of balance. You will float, but it's faster if you kick towards the surface.

 

C) The safest way to flee a bear attack is to avoid one. Do not make eye contact, gather your kids behind you, back away slowly perpendicular to the bears path. If you discover that you are between the bear and her cub(s) move out of the way as directly as possible without getting closer to any bear.

Once you're being approached by an angry bear, it depends on the type of bear what you should do. Some bears can climb trees, and others can't. Some fall for playing dead and others won't. Etc.

[justLisa]

That's it. I am never leaving my house.

[Stacia]

As far as the sinking car scenario, I think this seems like a good plan:

http://www.wikihow.com/Escape-from-a-Sinking-Car

 

I have also heard/seen that to break a side window, you can quickly remove your headrest & use the metal supports to hammer the window to break it.

[ravinlunachick]

hypatia, the emergency supplies are good to have no matter what. I need to restock ours. Thanks for the reminder!

 

 

 

B) You need to keep a window breaker/seatbelt cutter combo in the glove box. In case of submerging, open glove box remove tool, cut belts, break window. As quickly as possible. If you're fast enough you may not be entirely underwater.

Have you taught your kids to kick off the bottom of the pool if they sink? The technique is the same, just use the side of the van. If you can't tell which way is up, you need to hold your breath and wait for a couple seconds to regain your sense of balance. You will float, but it's faster if you kick towards the surface.

 

 

 

I don't have one of those tools, although I've been meaning to get one ever since I saw it demonstrated on Oprah. :tongue_smilie: No, my kids don't know how to kick off. They won't even put their heads underwater willingly. Well, my ds would, but he can't swim or follow complex new directions like that. We happen to have an extra set of life jackets for the two little ones. My dh suggested that we just keep them in the van. That way, they'll be useful for unexpected day trips to the lake, and I can get them on in a hurry if I need to.

 

Knowing which kid to help, and in what order is also somewhat of a concern. My oldest dd is most likely to freeze or refuse to follow my directions under extreme stress. My youngest is very brave and independent; she would probably do what I told her. DS is a wildcard in pretty much any emergency situation. He might be totally compliant, or he might run away the first chance he got. I'd probably have to keep hold of him, regardless of the situation. He's too big for me to carry if I'm also carrying the little one, though.

[regentrude]

I only know what to do about bears.

First of all, try to avoid a close bear encounter.

Make noise while walking in bear country. Keep kids close. Store food safely (i.e in a bear safe can or hang properly between trees). Do not approach bear. Black bears are scared of you and do not consider you food, but may be conditioned to associate humans with yummy foods they carry.

If bear approaches:

Black bear:

Let the bear know that you are the scarier animal: throw pinecones, rocks, use emergency whistle (it does work, I scared off a bear by doing that). Look big, fight (but never take food away from him if he already got your food.) Back away slowly. Do not run (you can not outrun a bear).

 

Brown bear:

Play dead and pray that he leaves you alone. No chance to fight with a grizzlie - for him, humans ARE food.

With young children, I would not backpack in grizzlie country.

 

ETA: Climbing trees is not a realistic option (not to mention with young kids). Black bears can climb very well. Brown bears can break down the tree.

 

Since we are on the subject of animals: cougars. Keep kids close and in the middle of the group. Do not let small kids run ahead or lag behind.

Edited July 24, 2012 by regentrude

[athena1277]

 

B) You need to keep a window breaker/seatbelt cutter combo in the glove box. In case of submerging, open glove box remove tool, cut belts, break window. As quickly as possible. If you're fast enough you may not be entirely underwater.

Have you taught your kids to kick off the bottom of the pool if they sink? The technique is the same, just use the side of the van. If you can't tell which way is up, you need to hold your breath and wait for a couple seconds to regain your sense of balance. You will float, but it's faster if you kick towards the surface.

 

 

 

:iagree:Also, realize that unless you are in a very remote place, someone is likely to have seen you go off into the water. Focus on getting the straps cut off the kids, then break the window, then push them out the window, olders first, so maybe you can hang on to the littlest when you exit. By the time you have done all that, there will be people trying to get to all of you who will help get the kids and you out of the water.

[bolt.]

A: if zig zag run is the right thing, make a game so they pick up the skill.

 

B: humans float, especially kids, vans hold air very well. You should have plenty of ankle and knee deep time to release everyone the regular way. Then when you are all ready, wait until the water is quite high inside, then have them hold on to you, unroll a window with one hand or open a sliding door. Shove them strongly out and upwards one at a time, then kick off yourself. You are the most likely to sink or stay at a neutral depth (but only if you are less than averagely fat) so don't hold any child. They are little corks at least for a short while, especially if they stay still. By that time (5 or 10 minutes to fill a van) there will probably be helpful people at hand to retrieve you all.

 

C: bears are generally not aggressive, but sometimes they are (if they have been habituated) there are specific strategies for each situation, and ways to tell what to do. Try reading the Canadian national parks website. They have an excellent brochure, so the information is probably available.

[Occasionally]

That's it. I am never leaving my house.

 

:iagree:

[ravinlunachick]

I hadn't considered that someone would likely have seen the van. That's incredibly comforting!

 

I'm not convinced the van doors would slide open. A girl I went to high school with drowned inside a car in a not-too-deep river. She took a curve too fast on a rainy day and went off the road. The school bus was right in front of her car, and despite the fact that two very strong football players dove in and tried desperately to open the doors and kick out the windows, both she and her boyfriend drowned inside. :( They just could NOT manage it. (Note to self: Get that dang tool already!)

 

Thanks for all the good bear advice! We are scrupulous about food at the campsite, and if making noise is a deterrent, we shouldn't ever have any problems, LOL.

 

regentrude, that's interesting about cougars. I suppose it makes sense that they would pick off stragglers. When my oldest was about a year old, we were at the zoo looking at the leopard. DD toddled right up to the glass to see. We were standing off to one side. I had a VERY uneasy feeling all of a sudden, and I told dh, "I think the leopard is looking at her like food!" Right then, the leopard came barreling towards the glass and "attacked" dd (who never flinched, btw--no time)! :svengo:

 

It was nearly two years before I was not nervous when dd approached the observation glass around big cats. Dh still likes to tease me about it. :glare:

[ktgrok]

Get one of those emergency tools for the van, that has something to cut seat belts and break the glass with. if you drive near water enough to justify it (I don't), you could also put those self inflating life jackets in the van. So you could cut the seat belts, strap on a life jacket and put the cord to inflate it, then break the glass and the kids should float up with minimal help.

 

For the bear, google tips, but I believe there are bear sprays and such. In general though the best way to avoid bears is to make lots of noise as you hike, and kids do that well :)

[Stacia]

So you could cut the seat belts, strap on a life jacket and put the cord to inflate it, then break the glass and the kids should float up with minimal help.

 

On airplanes, the instructions are specifically to wait to inflate until you're outside the door/window/vehicle (otherwise, you might not fit through the opening w/ a giant inflated thing around you). So, if you had life jackets like that, I'd definitely wait to pull the 'inflate' cord until outside of the vehicle.

[Hilltop]

My friend and her ds (who was 3 y.o. at the time) were in a local ice cream shop when an armed man came in to rob it. Thankfully he walked up to the counter, demanded the money, got it quickly, and left without harming anyone. She was not sitting near an exit, so she trusted her intuition to stay calm and still. It happened so quickly that her ds did not realize what was going on until it was over.

 

When the police arrived she asked the officer what she should have done. He told her that every scenario is different, and the best thing to do is trust your intuition. In some cases you'd want to try to leave, in others you'd want to stay and "blend in" to the background as much as possible. Needless to say, my friend *always* sits near an exit in a restaurant when she can and she is always aware of where the exits are.