Before an Emergency

• Teach your child how to recognize dangerous situations.
• Teach them how and when to call for help.
• Practice your emergency plans as a family.
• Reassure them that you are making plans now so that you will all stay safe in an emergency.
• Learn about emergency plans at your child’s school or daycare.

During an Emergency

• The way a child reacts in an emergency is strongly influenced by how adults respond to the situation.  They take their cues from us.  Stay calm, remain positive, and confidently take steps to deal with the emergency.  Try to make the situation as comfortable as possible.
• Reassure children by talking with them about the situation to address their concerns and fears.
• Children respond well to familiarity.  Practice your emergency evacuation plan twice a year.  In the event of an emergency or evacuation bring along a favourite toy or board game to provide comfort and entertainment.
• Media coverage of an emergency may increase anxiety in children.  Try to limit their exposure to TV and radio reports which might heighten their fears and worries.

After an Emergency

• Encourage children to ask questions about the event and to talk about the feelings they experienced.
• Include children in the recovery after the disaster.  You might assign them clean up tasks that are appropriate to the child’s age and skill level.

The following activities may help your children understand emergency preparedness.

Emergency Preparedness Wordsearch – For children ages 5-9.  Find the words in the list and use the remaining letters to spell out a secret message.

Emergency Preparedness Crossword – For children ages 10-14   Use the clues to fill in the blanks.  All of the answer words are present in fact sheets on the Simcoe Muskoka Emergency website.

Wordsearch Answers
Crossword Answers