Things You'll Need:
- Emergency phone numbers
- <br>Pictures of police car, fire truck and ambulance
- <br>Escape plan
- <br>Meeting place
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Step 1
Double check the emergency phone numbers for your area. Most areas are 911-compatible, but in some places there are still separate emergency numbers for medical, police and fire emergencies. Once you've found the numbers, write them on a piece of paper and place pictures of a police car, ambulance and fire engine next to the corresponding numbers. This helps even the youngest of children to find and dial the correct number.
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Step 2
Post the emergency numbers not only near the phone, but also next to all the exits in the home. In the event of a fire, your child will be able to grab the phone number list and take it with him on his way out the door. Some families even make a little notebook for each child to keep in his room for just such cases or program the numbers directly into cell phones.
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Step 3
Teach your child what to say during a 911 call and practice with her. Even older children can get flustered in emergencies, so making sure that your child can state her name, the nature of the emergency, her address and phone number is imperative.
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Step 4
Have an escape plan in place for fires. Make sure your child knows how to get to safety in order to call for help in a fire. Create a diagram of your house and make sure that everybody has at least two ways to get out of the house and knows what they are. You should also talk to your neighbors about using their home as a meeting place in case of a fire.
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Step 5
Teach your kids to get out of the house before calling for help and to grab the emergency numbers on the way out--but only if it won't endanger them. Getting out of danger takes precedence over notifying the fire department. Once your kids are safe they can make the emergency call from a neighbor's home or use a portable phone.
