Helping Kids Be Ready for Emergencies

“Do you remember when a potato came into the backyard?” my toddler signed to me one day. 

“What potato?” I asked, confused.

“It was raining a lot, and you said a big potato might come and pick things up!” she said.

I realized she meant tornado. I had told her before how strong winds from a tornado could lift things like our trampoline. 

We both laughed, but it got me thinking. Kids need to learn about emergencies in ways they can understand and talk about.

Preparing for emergencies is one thing, and there are many resources for parents of children with disabilities:

• The Navigate Life Texas Emergency Preparedness guide.
• Videos from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
• Checklists for families from Texas Ready.

Understanding emergencies is another thing, but there aren’t many resources designed for that. It’s scary for a child to go through something like a tornado. Teaching kids about different kinds of emergencies can help them stay calm and safe. 

Here are some resources that can help kids prepare for emergencies — or even understand past ones they’ve lived through:

• Ready.gov has games, tips and ideas for how kids can help their community, such as joining the Youth Preparedness Council.
• Ready.gov also offers curriculum, including in-depth emergency planning lessons, for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade.
• The American Red Cross has activity books to help kids understand a variety of emergency situations. including floods and tornadoes.