How To Prepare Your Family For An Emergency

In a perfect world, we would never have to worry about being prepared for the moment when disaster strikes. Unfortunately, we can never truly know what might happen on any given day. There are plenty of incidents that can occur that will force you and your family into emergency mode; whether it’s caused by a natural disaster or something more personal like a family tragedy. As an individual, when you face an emergency, you want to be prepared to do whatever you need to in order to escape the situation and get yourself to safety. However, as a mother, your job becomes not only getting yourself to safety, but also about getting your family to safety by any means possible. After witnessing the damage of Hurricane Katrina and Harvey, I quickly learned the importance of being prepared when disaster strikes, while hoping it never does. Here are a few tips on how you can prepare your family for an emergency. 

Remember the Needs and Limitations of Your Child

When you are preparing for emergency situations, you need to consider your children on an individual basis. Take the time to understand what your child will need to eat, drink, and wear in order to survive a situation away from home. This means making sure that you have seasonally appropriate clothes, vitamins, and plenty of water or hydration packets, as well as Children’s medicine. While an adult might be able to survive without some of these things for a while, children are much more susceptible to fatigue, heat, cold, and dehydration. Their vulnerability is what makes it so necessary for you to always be prepared with what they might need in the event that something were to go wrong.

Have A Bag Packed

One of the best things that any family can do is have an emergency bag. Many people refer to this as a “bug-out” bag. It’s the bag that you will reach for in the event that you have to get your family and get out fast. You will want to put various items in this bag like clothes, an emergency savings, snacks, maps, medications, baby food, and anything else that you would need to survive for a few days if forced out of your home. A bag like this can save your family if your house were to catch on fire or if something bad were to happen in your neighborhood.

Make Sure Your Kids Know Who to Call

In the event that an emergency arises in any form, you want to make sure that your kids know who to call if you are not with them or become incapacitated. Preparing your children to understand how to responsibly call the police or a relative in the event that something goes wrong can not only save your life, but theirs. In the event that something goes wrong and you can’t be reached, it is important for your children to be prepared with a backup that they can reach out to. This is important if something were to stop you from getting to them or if you ended up injured in your home.

Keep A Mobile Emergency Kit

In the event that you are out and disaster strikes, it pays to have emergency essentials on hand. This might mean keeping water, hydration packets, snacks, and a first-aid kit in your car or might mean keeping a small bag of essentials like this in your purse or diaper bag. The important part is that you will have what you need to survive if you get in a car accident, end up trapped somewhere, or something happens that requires you to leave from somewhere other than home and go to the hospital.

Have A Meeting Spot Planned

While some of you may have children who are too young for this, for moms with older kiddos who could reasonably make it on their own in the event of an emergency, you should always have a place in the area that your kids know to go to in the event that there is an emergency and you cannot make it home. This might mean an area like a local school, church, or even a store. The idea is that you will have a local point that can be reached in the event that you lose contact and your house is not an option. If your family has become separated, reuniting will always be the first problem that you want to handle.

Have an Emergency Savings

An important consideration in the event that disaster strikes is always having an emergency savings. Depending on what happens, keeping an amount of cash on you can absolutely save lives if an area loses electricity or if you find yourself being shuttled to an unknown area. In the event that something happens to your home and you find yourself incapable of returning to it for a while, you will need to have money and resources to get your children somewhere safe and keep them fed. This is even more important when it comes to natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires. Having a savings in place can help your family recover more easily from these frightening situations.

Conclusion

While no one can prepare for everything, there are certain essentials and considerations that you can make in order to lessen the blow of a bad situation. In the event that disaster does strike your family, knowing that you have what it takes to help your children stay nourished and protected is a tremendous benefit. Having a plan aides in helping you to remain calm and comfortable as you do what it takes to keep your children safe. It is my sincere hope that you never need to use this kind of information, but it always pays to be prepared. 

Until next time Kuties! 

-Keon