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Teaching your children to handle the unexpected
9/1/2017 (Permalink)
Handling the Unexpected
It's that time of the year again. Our children are returning to school and we continue our daily life of work. Sometimes things happen and our children are left to fend for themselves for part of the day and sometimes the entire day. This can come with some hesitation as we allow our children to grow up and fend for themselves. Rest assure the more that you prepare them for this phenomenon the better off you both will be. Latchkey-kids.com gives a handy list of suggested things to do to prepare everyone for when this may happen...
Handling the Unexpected
You can feel more confident about your absence if your child learns some basic skills that might come in handy during an emergency. Organizations such as the American Red Cross offer courses in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in local places like schools, hospitals, and community centers.
Before being left home alone home alone, your child should be able to complete certain tasks and safety precautions, such as:
- knowing when and how to call 911 and what address information to give the dispatcher
- knowing how to work the home security system, if you have one, and what to do if the alarm is accidentally set off
- locking and unlocking doors
- working the phone/cell phone (in some areas, you have to dial 1 or the area code to dial out)
- turning lights off and on
- operating the microwave
Knowing what to do if:
- there's a small fire in the kitchen
- the smoke alarm goes off
- there's a tornado or other severe weather
- a stranger comes to the door
- someone calls for a parent who isn't home
- there's a power outage
Regularly discuss some emergency scenarios — ask what your child would do if, for example, he or she smelled smoke, a stranger knocked at the door, or someone called for you while you're gone.