While all the trauma is happening in Haiti, I have been thinking about my own family and most households in our country. Today at the gym, while I was on the treadmill watching the news, I saw the tornado alert for Southern CA. The newscaster was telling everyone what to do, where to go for shelter and how to be as safe as possible in your own home. I started thinking about natural disaster and what I would do if I couldn’t get to my children… What if they were in school? What if they were home and I was working? What if we weren’t together? I started thinking about our safety plan. We don’t have one!
Do you have a friend to call on that lives close if you can’t get to your children? Does your school have an emergency contact if they can’t reach you? What is the plan if you are separated? It’s an awful subject to think about, but today with all the sadness and potential emergency warnings, it really made me think.
It’s not just about natural disasters, I thought about predators, and home invasions. I took a self-defense course and they talked about how targeted moms are because we are so distracted with our children. I learned that we have to be more aware than the next person, we have to think ahead, and we HAVE to be prepared. How many times are you not looking around you because you are searching for your keys, or totally lost in your kid’s actions? I hate to even write this blog, but it’s so important and these are some simple tips that could make a BIG difference. Here is also a good article on self defense tips for kids.
Have your keys in hand before you leave any building.
Park as close as possible to where you are going and always choose a well-lit area.
After buckling in your child, lock the door before you walk around the car to get in.
Have a phone that connects to the wall jack that will work even when the electricity goes out.
Don’t roll down your window for anyone!
YELL if you are in danger!
Have flash light (with batteries in them!) in every room.
Have spare candles on hand in case you have no light.
Know what to do if someone enters your house. Don’t go looking for them, stay put and call the police. Lock as many doors as possible in the room you are located in.
Lights around your house are a GREAT deterrence, so is a barking dog!
Have a CODE word that is used for emergencies ONLY!!! It’s your GO TO word that you can say in an emergency to your kids and that means, Be Quiet, Listen, don’t ask questions, just follow instructions.
Think about how much time we spend explaining things to our kids, there may not be an opportunity for that, and your CODE word can save you.
Have smart foods around in case you can’t get to the market for a while, canned goods, plenty of water, vitamins, foods that will keep without electricity.
We did an emergency evacuation in our Malibu home 3 years ago during the terrible Malibu fires. The story is not appropriate at this time; it pales in comparison to what is going on in the world. But, I’ll tell you that I had 10 minutes to get 4 kids and three dogs safely out of my burning neighborhood. I learned what to do because of that experience. I learned a lot, but I was NOT as prepared as I could have been and I should have had a safety plan in place.
Do some research on the Internet. There is so much valuable info out there to help prepare you for any type of emergencies.
I am so saddened at what is happening in Haiti. You can text the number 90999, message Haiti and you can easily donate $10.00 to the relief program. ModernMom is also donating 10% of all Tauts and Baboosh Body sales to that program as well. It’s a tough time to give, but so important.
No one wants to think about negative, scary situations, but being prepared may give you a better shot at surviving them. It’s a rough time for many and people are desperate. I just wanted to share some safety tips. I would love to hear any of yours, and I am sure we can help each other a lot.
Xoxo, Brooke
A few good links…
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