Homemaking - Safety
Home Safety and Emergency Preparedness
We all want our children to be safe! Emergencies tend to happen when you least expect them. Will you be prepared? Do you have your affairs in order to deal with the aftermath of an emergency? Thinking through the possibilities is an outstanding homeschooling project. Consider these ideas and resources.
Fire Escape Plan
Every family should have a fire escape plan. Have the children draw a basic floor plan of the house. Have each one show the path that he/she would take to get to the nearest exit if the house caught on fire. Then discuss what the children should do if that exit was blocked. Establish a meeting place (the mailbox, a particular tree, etc.) where everyone would go after getting out of the house. Then, practice your plan! Make sure to tell the children NEVER to go back into the house after leaving.
Injury or Illness Plan
Many stay-at-home moms have had medical emergencies when no other adult is present in the house. Even toddlers should be taught how to use the phone to dial 9-1-1. Ask your children what they would do if you became unconscious. Post the phone numbers for local authorities, emergency personnel, and poison control in a location near the phone, and tell the children when to use them.
First Aid
The American Red Cross and other organizations offer basic first aid classes at reasonable prices. If a class isn't in your budget, get a first aid book from the library and work through some of the situations with your children. Some of the basics would include bleeding, burns, and shock. Most of all they need to know when and how to dial 9-1-1.
Weather and Earthquake Related Concerns
If you live in an area that may experience powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, or flash flooding, do a unit study on the topic. Teach the children what causes these things. Review appropriate courses of action -- what to do and not to do if this situation arises.
Stranger Danger
Child abductions are very scary to adults, but what does your child know about this topic? The best prevention for this rare situation is to discuss it! When you ask a group of children what they would do if someone pointed a gun at them and told them to get into a car, almost every child will answer, "Get in the car." Try the question with your children. If this is their answer, you have work to do. Dignity Memorial offers a free program called Escape School Abduction Prevention Program. The material is presented in a non-threatening way for children of all ages. Set up a presentation by contacting someone on their website.
Guns
Even if you do not have guns in your home, you should go over gun safety with your children. (They might find a gun on the ground or at someone else's house!) Train your children that they are NEVER to touch the gun. They should leave the room and tell an adult. NEVER touch the gun.
Recovering from a Disaster
When your home is hit by fire, flood, hurricane, or tornado, many treasures will be wiped out. Preparation in advance is the key to an easier recovery. Here are some ideas from our message board participants:
- Take inventory of everything we have. Since our friend's house burned, I am seeing firsthand that they can't move ahead with getting their insurance money and their lives back to normal until that first step is done. -- Sis
- Fill in the cost and depreciated cost and the replacement cost of EVERY single item in the house. I had a computer program that you could list everything. -- Shavawn
- Video each room, very detailed, and then keep a copy at a bank or at your far-away friend's house. -- Rhonda in CA
More Homemaking and Frugal Living Resources from HomeschoolChristian.com!
