It's back to school time and, as I do every year, I'm thinking about how to prep DS for potential emergencies. I want him to have some basic preps but not suo much that he has to hire a u-haul. Like his mom, he's prone to over-prepping. He's Not scared, just thinking of the possible adventures. He's excited, for example, about having to walk home on his own. (Isn't going to happen yet because of 2 major roads between home and school. We have a phone tree in place with the neighbours. The plan is for him to walk to and from school with one of us every day.)

He's 8, his school is a 15 minute walk from our house, a 20 minute drive from DH's work and anywhere from about 40 mins to an hour (or more depending on the secenario) drive from my office. All 4 locations are between 2 nuke plants, and near a major highway and national railway.

His top scenarios are: minor accidents, Mom or Dad missing an after school pick-up because of weather/accidents, the potential of a train derailment/chemical spill on the highway, power failures, snow storms, and possibly a nuclear accident. In other words: minor first aid, stranger danger, bugging in at school, bugging out from school and trekking home in bad weather.

So, with that in mind, here's what I'm thinking of adding to his backpack:

-laminated ID card with emergency contact info
-water, snacks and lunch
-jacket (extra hat, mitts and sweater will be added before the cold weather gets here)
-change of clothes
-small flashlight
-lanyard with house key, fox 40 and key chain LED
-small FAK (bandaids, purelle, bandana)

Any other ideas or suggestions?

School policy may prohibit it, but have you considered a cell phone and on the laminated card a list (cleared in advance) of people he can call in an emergency if you and/or DH are unavailable/out of contact?

Thanks BWS! We're considering it. There was a thing called a "firefly" (or something like that) marketed a few years ago that would be perfect. It was a cell phone, but it had no numbers, just pre-programmed buttons for 911, home, and a couple more (like Mom, Dad and Grandma). They don't seem to be available anymore so we're considering something else.

His school is very small (120 kids) and staff keeps a very close eye on him. I'm not overly concerened but it would be good for him to have a way to contact us directly if something was to come up and the school phone wasn't available.

It is possible to restrict some basic cell phones to calling 911 or numbers that have been set up in advance as speed dial numbers. When my daughter got her first phone we set it up that way and I know that some phones are still that way.

IMO that's why the firefly never caught on. It was possible to do the same thing with a normal phone on the plan you already have.

If a nuclear accident is a concern, may I suggest IOSAT™ Potassium Iodide?

Jeanette Isabelle

Thanks Jeanette. All the schools in our region have KI pills for students and we sign off each year giving permission for the school to adminster it in the event of an accident.

They've also got a bug-out plan the involves bussing to an underground shelter, and they practice this drill a couple of times a year.

Thanks gang! I didn't realize you could do the firefly thing with cel phones. Cool!

Put the laminated ID card on the neck lanyard with the other stuff.

It's maybe a 50-50 chance that he will remember/be able to get his pack in a scary situation. If I can leave my purse and paycheck on the seat when I bolted from a burning car, he can!

If you get him a cell phone, get the cheapest and plainest (TracFone?) that is just a phone. He doesn't need a camera and porn access. If it's 'below standard' in attractiveness, it's less likely to be stolen and no great loss if he misplaces it.

Sue

Great advice Sue. (As always!)Thanks!

Wow, bacpacjac, wish I had a mom like you growing up. You may want to consider a phone with a keyboard. As you probably already know, text messages will usually go through even when voice calls cannot. During a large scale emergency I can see the phone system easily being overloaded with everyone trying to call eachother.

he might be more inclined to wear a real "dog tag" for ID on a ball chain with a thin TOPS type whistle and Fauton LED

a zippered nylon wallet sized pouch would handle more of the EDC on body gear, much lower profile as an object for criitcism from his peers

One thing I've noticed about schools is, with most emergencies, they tend to follow the same procedure that they do during a fire-drill. (i.e. they line up and walk out of the classroom, either to the outside or to an auditorium)

During such drills, they're typically told to leave backpacks and such behind. The only thing they might grab with any regularity is a jacket, and even that is iffy.

This is kind of annoying because it basically means....if an item isn't on your child's person at all times, it isn't likely to be there when your child might really need it (like during a major emergency).

With that being the case, I would try to get your child to at least carry some bare essentials on their person. A small flashlight, whistle, and some form of identification would be a great start. If they can handle a cell phone with that, even better.

Obviously, it's still a good idea to keep some other items in their backpack or whatever, but I wouldn't load it up with stuff under the assumption it will be with them during an emergency.

**On a side note, if you do give your child some form of identification (with your address on it) and a house key, make sure not to keep them together. I see this all the time and it drives me nuts. If they're together and your child looses them, whoever finds them now has your address and a key to get in at their leisure.

"During such drills, they're typically told to leave backpacks and such behind."

Typically stupid.

Jackie, have you checked with your son's school to find out what the usual fire-drill-type procedures are? Also, exactly what plans they've made for a disaster? Living where you do, I'm sure they've got something in place.

There is a town in the expected lahar path of the local volcano here, and the school's plan is to immediately load up all the kids on the school buses and high-tail it out of the way. (Whether this will work or not seems rather iffy, as every parent within reach will probably be blocking the road trying to get to their kid, even though they know the plan.)

Sue

the backpack issue is kind of a two edged sword thing....for fire evacuation, moving 1800 high school kids with backpacks is much slower than without them... on the other hand, if the evacuation is for a bomb threat, then most EOD people I've talked to would rather have to check just the lone "suspicious" backpack than 1800...leaving the backpack adds to a time management issue if the evacuation is extended.. there are times when you want the student to have a CD player or iPod to listen to tunes...also many of our kids had a water bottle and hat along with any emergency personal meds in the pack...

check with the emergency plan of your kid's school...a 3hour bomb evacuation will point out a lot problems a 15min drill will not...been there done that

is there adequate drinking water available for each assembly area?... is there an air conditioned outlying facility for kids with allergies or health problems?...does the staff have adequate communications equipment? (the answer to this is no) is a health care professional on site (our campus covered a city block)...are there Sting kits, EpiPens and Benedryl available? is there protection from the Sun?

your school will have an Emergency Management Plan, and should have a committee that meets at regular intervals to discuss safety concerns...

as soon as the local TV helecopter circled overhead, our school switchboard and 911 center was flooded with calls, making communication difficult

if you serve on your school Parent Teacher Student committee, see if there are FRS/GMRS hand helds that can be purchased (before budget cuts we were given a small stipend to replace out of pocket consumables we bought for class use), or even that the teachers classroom phone is a portable, and has "all call" communication...phone tree between teachers private cell phones

Our nuclear evac plan is a little different. The kids mostly stay in their classrooms until it's time to load the bus. (One of the advantages of such a small school. At his bigger school, all the kids waited in the gym.) In theory, this will happen within 15-20 minutes. but I suspect that's only theory. If those sirens ever do go off for real there's going to be chaos. I'm volunteering to helping with the drills at our new school.



This REALLY bugs me. At our old school, I once arrived to pick up the kids at lunch, to see all 860 kids waiting outside in a cold spring rain. No jackets, no blankets, no nothing. I asked the principle why the teachers don't have go bags and he just shrugged his shoulders.



DS is told to keep his sweater/jacket on his chair so he can easily grab it on the way out. There's always a fauton, whistle and bandana in the pocket. Adding an ID card is a great idea. Thanks for the reminder!



Very good point!



Excellent reminder. Thanks!

I have and they do indeed Sue. I've volunteered to help with the bus practice day this fall. There seem to be some differences between this school and his old one



My thoughts exactly Sue. The plan is for the kids to go but reality may Be very different. As word spreads, travel will become difficult.

Great insights Les! Thanks!

I've volunteered and plan to be involved with the PTA as well. I'm not sure if they have a seperate emergency committee. (There are only 8 classes of about 17/18 kids each + one teacher each + Librarian + Special Ed teacher + Secretary + Principal + VP) It's like a Big family and everyone pitches in.

Being small has it's advantages. It's easier to make preps and accomodations for individual students (i.e. allergies), every teacher knows every kid, the small space is easier to manage, etc. The kids watch out gor each other too. When we first moved here, I went to watch DS at lunch. I stayed at a distance because I didn't want to disturb. No less than 4 teachers approached me to check-in.

One of the disadvantages is that it would be a hard building to secure. It's a u-shaped building, and there are only 5 entrances, but each classroom as a long wall (on the inside of the u) which is end-to-end waist-height windows.

As a smaller school, we could be at a higher threat of things like bomb threats, gunmen, etc. because we're on a small side street and
the security could be perceived as more casual. Honestly though, it's not something I worry about. I'm more concerned with fire and a nuclear accident.