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Teaching our children about safety...


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and what to do in an emergency is really on my mind. Dh was alone with ds (6.5) estimating a job. This was a beautiful house, not a construction site, so dh took off his shoes at the door. We have had lots of snow in the past few weeks and he didn't want to muddy up the floors. He and ds were heading into the basement (dh is a heating specialist/ plumber) and slipped on their highly waxed floors. He somehow (supermom instinct?) was able to scoop up ds, but he hit every step on the way down. DS counted 12. DH is in terrible pain, but THANK GOD he did not hit his head or go unconscious. Ds was fine...not even a boo-boo, but it has really gotten me thinking...WHAT_IF??? What if dh had been knocked out?? Or worse?? I don't know if my little guy would know what to do!

 

When they got home...after lots of kisses and hugs, I programmed a help contact into my and dh's cell phone. It has my (dh's) cell, 911 and I am thinking of adding another #. Ds and I practiced a bit on how to open the contacts...use the arrow to point to the right # and call for help. I also taught him Dad's full name and to try to know where he is at all times...or at least to call 911 so he can be tracked.

 

Does anyone have any pointers or tips on what exactly we should be teaching these little guys about emergency situations?? We have done fire drills, but I never really thought about having just one little one with one parent. We have had older children no for so long and we are together so much it never crossed my mind to teach my little one to use the cell phone in an emergency.

 

Thanks,

Faithe

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Oh, I'm so glad that your dh is ok - bruised but not worse than that!

 

What we do is have fake 9-1-1 calls where I take the part of the 9-1-1 dispatcher. "9-1-1, what is your emergency? . . . What is your name? . . . What is your Daddy's name? . . . What is your Mommy's name? . . . What is your address? . . . What is your phone number?"

 

Also - for home emergencies we've talked about a couple of "safe" neighbors to go to for help. And if they aren't home to go to the ones we don't know well.

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Gosh, I think you did the right thing by having your son learn to use the phone. You may want to have him do the same with YOUR phone...incase he needs to call dad to come help you.

 

Otherwise, I just want to wish your dh a speedy recovery. I fell down some stairs a year and a half ago and the bruise I had was solid BLACK for over a week before it started to turn a beautiful shade of eggplant purple. It took three months to not be visable anymore on my fair skin. Painful was NOT the word. I almost couldn't breathe it hurt so much!

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I started teaching my kids this once they turned 5. As a single mom I have always been worried about the "what if something happens to me" I teach them their full name, my full name, our phone number and our address. I teach them 911 and grandma's number(after all even if 911 comes they will need an sdult to care for them). They also know to run and get a neighbor. In my area I know most of my neighbors and many are SAHM parents so someone is almost always around. I don't have a cell phone so learning that one has not come up. Knowing all this information has been good even if they get lost in a store etc as they can have someone find me asap because they can relay all the important information.

 

Role-playing is essential imo, in a scary situation they are more likely to panic and forget what you taught if you haven't role-played to really ingrain the info, then if it is ever needed it clicks right away because they know they have done it before.

 

As the kids got older I increased their emergency preparedness info, for example, in addition to above information, my son knows he is to take the baby and put her in a safe place if something happens to me. They also know to buddy up if for example fire hits and I can not get to them, son takes baby out, dd grabs ds5 and they all meet at the lightpole out front. And we practice this scenario in addition to our regualr fire drills. Ds and dd will also be taking a first aid/cpr course soon now that they are 9 & 10 so they will know what to do in that scenario too.

 

It is very empowering to the kids to realize they know what to do if an emergency happens, and they are less likely to panic and case a bigger problem.

 

I hope your dh is feeling better soon, it is amazing how those instincts kick in without thinking and your child ends up 100% safe while you suffer for a while with pain. I had a similiar situation years ago, falling on ice while carrying ds (then 6 months old) when I was 5 months pg. I was cut and bruised from hip to shoulder and he didn't even get snow on him. I think for the first 30 seconds I was in shock and fear if he was okay and then the pain kicked in as soon as I knew he was.

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We have taught all 3 of our kids how to dial 911, and they all know their full names as well as ours. The oldest knows our phone number and address. They know to get help if anyone is hurt or not able to wake up. They are to find an adult (our neighbors are all nice so we don't worry about who to go to), and if no one listens when in public just start screaming help...Mommy,Daddy, whoever.

 

We also have taught them to apply pressure to bleeding (unfortunately they have practiced this). My DD knows to always know the exits 'just in case' no matter where we are. One thing that a friend told me was to teach them to throw something into a pool if they see someone is trouble, because without prompting they may try to jump in and save them despite knowing they should go get an adult.

 

I will keep checking this post. We are always up for new ideas to keep everyone safe.

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This thread serves as a great reminder (though I'm sorry to hear about your dh's fall)!

 

One tip I've always heard is to tell kids not to hide in case of a fire. If they get scared, they may hide rather than trying to get out. Also, it is great if they can visit a fire station & see a fireman w/ the protective gear on (esp. big scary looking mask) -- you don't want a child to hide from a fireman.

 

Also, when the kids were younger & we would be on trips, I would use printable stickers that I made ahead of time w/ their names, our names, the hotel or place where we were staying, cellphone nubmers for us & other relatives or friends, etc.... I would stick it in back of their shirt at the bottom, upside down (so an adult would only need to flip up the bottom edge of the shirt to read it). I think this gave the kids extra peace of mind when we were in a different place than usual. Now that they're older, I give them a small note to keep in their pocket w/ that type of info (when we travel).

 

Also, I know someone who used the pet tags that you can make yourself (on machines at places like PetSmart) w/ their home or cell phone # on it. She attached it to the shoestring on her dd's sneaker (on the middle of the lace before lacing it into the shoe). She got the heart-shaped one & her dd loved it. I think it's a great idea, esp. w/ young kids.

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This thread serves as a great reminder (though I'm sorry to hear about your dh's fall)!

 

One tip I've always heard is to tell kids not to hide in case of a fire. If they get scared, they may hide rather than trying to get out. Also, it is great if they can visit a fire station & see a fireman w/ the protective gear on (esp. big scary looking mask) -- you don't want a child to hide from a fireman.

 

Also, when the kids were younger & we would be on trips, I would use printable stickers that I made ahead of time w/ their names, our names, the hotel or place where we were staying, cellphone nubmers for us & other relatives or friends, etc.... I would stick it in back of their shirt at the bottom, upside down (so an adult would only need to flip up the bottom edge of the shirt to read it). I think this gave the kids extra peace of mind when we were in a different place than usual. Now that they're older, I give them a small note to keep in their pocket w/ that type of info (when we travel).

 

Also, I know someone who used the pet tags that you can make yourself (on machines at places like PetSmart) w/ their home or cell phone # on it. She attached it to the shoestring on her dd's sneaker (on the middle of the lace before lacing it into the shoe). She got the heart-shaped one & her dd loved it. I think it's a great idea, esp. w/ young kids.

 

What a great idea!!! I am going to make them for all my Kiddoes...older ones can have that info on their keychains.

 

I also like the idea of taking the little ones to see the firemen in all their regalia...those guys can look scary to a little person who is already scared.

 

I think the big lesson from dh's fall is preparedness for our littlies and booties with friction strips for him~!

 

Faithe

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