Many people in our area commute a considerable distance to work every day, and this can cause real problems when severe storms arrive. Children may be home alone or traveling to or from school. There are many dangers to consider when you are caught outside in severe weather. Does your family have a plan if separated during these times? Consider these tips.
•Build relationships with other parents. Get to know them and trade out keeping the kids from time to time. This makes the kids more comfortable and trusting of these people.
•Alternate safe locations. Contact other parents and set up an alternate location for your kids to go in an emergency. Many kids go home to an empty house until mom or dad get home from work. That doesn’t need to be the case with severe weather approaching. This also gives the parent a place to start looking if communication is disrupted after a storm.
•Teach your kids to take precautions well ahead of approaching storms. If you have storm shelters in your neighborhood, take the kids down and show them the area. If this is your plan, be sure to teach them the dangers of interacting with strangers.
•Teach the kids how to protect themselves from injury in a storm. Find the safest place in the house, use head protection of some kind, etc...
•Communicate, communicate, communicate, and teach the kids to always accept your calls and messages.
Of course we are assuming these kids are “old enough” and responsible enough to be left alone for short periods. Small children should always be supervised.
A little bit of planning can create great peace of mind in an emergency. Remember, help is just around the corner at your local hardware store.
