You're right Haertig, he's probably going to be chaperoned 90%, but not always, and I have no guarantee that the grown-ups that are with him at school are EDCing anything. I know that the school has a plan and that 90% of the time things are going to go smoothly. It's that other 10% that I'd like to give him the edge on. I don't want him to be scared, or over-confident. I would like him to start thinking about what if and just in case.

There's another angle to consider: the fall into a puddle on the walk to school. My EDC gets used almost daily on the walk to and from school! No problem. He's got a change of clothes and a bandaid for his scraped knee.

If he carries this basic stuff when we go out hiking or camping why not carry it to school?

[I just double-checked and my son also has a bandana and an emergency blanket with his first aid kit. He's got his photon and whistle on a break-away lanyard but they are in his pack, not on him. It's a distraction in class because, as you predicted, he plays with it.]