September is the start of a new year, school year that is. As you plan for the new school year, be sure to plan for how you would reunite with your family if an emergency or disaster happened while everyone was at work or school.
“After a disaster, the faster children can reunite with the people they know and love, the better the outcomes will be,” says Chief Tom Sampson of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency. “Take the time to create an emergency action plan that includes phone numbers, emergency contacts and meeting places.”
It is important that children know the types of hazards in Calgary and understand what to do in an emergency. Create an emergency action plan as a family. Kids can help identify exit routes in the home, plan for pets and suggest meeting spots outside of the home. Once the plan is set, practice it! Planning and practicing help bolster children’s confidence and reduces anxiety about disasters.
Emergencies can happen at any time, so make a plan for what to do if you are separated from your kids when an emergency occurs. In an ideal world, everyone would have phone numbers memorized, but since that is not always possible, create small contact cards for each member of the family, listing phone numbers and contact information.
Talk to childcare providers and your children’s school to learn about their emergency plan and share your emergency plan with them.
Visit calgary.ca/getready to download a fillable emergency plan and learn more about how you can prepare for the disasters or emergencies that are possible in Calgary.
