TIPS

Skills Build Confidence

• Have your children participate in groups such as 4-H, Scouts, and Camp Fire, where they can learn valuable skills such as cooking, sewing, gardening, and small engine repair. As soon as possible, children should learn basic first aid and CPR. They should also learn to swim. Taking classes such as self-defense together can be an enjoyable experience for both of you, and a confidence builder.
  Every family should run routine fire drills. Make sure your children know what to do if the smoke or CO2 detector goes off and how to evacuate from all areas of your home. Teach young children their name, address, and phone number and how to dial 911. Teach older kids how to drive as soon as they are of legal age, at least well enough to move the family car to provide room for emergency vehicles.
  
  
• Have one first-aid kit for your home and one for each car. Your kits can contain many more items than are listed here, but you must be sure you know how and when to use them. It is also possible to purchase first-aid kits from most preparedness supply catalogs. The kits are convenient but cost more than preparing your own.
  
  
  

Keeping Kids Happy

Keeping children occupied when the lights go out can be a challenge, especially if they are used to being plugged in or transported to activities in order to be entertained. It helps if they’ve had some practice in low-tech entertainment, so you might consider turning off computers and the television one night a week and playing games or doing fun projects together as a family.

• THINGS TO KEEP ON HAND: Crayons or markers and paper, Play-Doh, and other craft supplies. Jigsaw puzzles and board games that involve the whole family, like Clue, Monopoly, and Yahtzee, can entertain for hours. Dolls, blocks, and toy cars should be in every house with kids. And start amassing a library. Books such as the Little House on the Prairie series, the Boxcar Children stories, Hatchet, My Side of the Mountain, and others that depict children using ingenuity to survive adversity are good choices.
  
  
• Be prepared to teach your child at home in the event you’re shut in for more than a couple of days. Have some workbooks tucked away to pull out when the time is right.
  
  
• Establish and stick to a regular routine with your kids. Your children will be most comfortable if a crisis disrupts their daily routine as little as possible.