First draft at a kid's instruction sheet. It doesn't show it in the posting, but all caps and the first line of each numbered paragraph are bolded. Also, I haven't formatted this into a card yet -- I want to get the wording right first. Comments please. -Gary

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FROM Mommy & Daddy, if you need it…

1. STOP. Sit down. DON’T PANIC. If you don’t know where we are, and you don’t know where you are, you’re lost. It’s OK – it happens. We wish you weren’t, but you are, and now you have to think and do things to help us get you home safe. FIRST THINGS FIRST: STAY WHERE YOU ARE. Moving around will only get you more lost. WE WILL COME TO FIND YOU. STAY THERE.
2. THINK. Don’t do anything until you’ve thought it through.
3. OBSERVE (LOOK AROUND). How long before it gets dark? Is it cold, hot, or OK? Are you thirsty or hungry? What do you have with you that you can use?
4. PLAN. Until we come to find you, what can you do to help wait? Without walking around, what can you do to help us hear and see you?
5. Am you hurt? Use band-aids, wipes and ointment to clean and cover cuts and scrapes.
6. If it’s cold, stay warm. Put on your hat, gloves and jacket – whatever you may have. But don’t let yourself sweat – sweat can make you colder. Use the poncho and hand warmer to cover up and keep warm.
7. Blow on your whistle. Three shorts blows – WHISTLE WHISTLE WHISTLE tells anyone that hears, that you’re lost and need help. (Don’t blow three whistles unless you’re lost!)
8. If it’s sunny, use the signal mirror. Aim through the hole so that the flash "dances" on the plane in the sky or off in the distance.
9. Save your food and water for as long as you can. Once its gone, you won’t have any more until we find you, so try to make it last.
10. If there is water nearby, you must not drink it unless you know its clean. Fill your water bottle up and then put ONE water pill in it. WAIT AT LEAST ONE HOUR BEFORE YOU DRINK IT.
11. If it begins to rain, cover yourself with your rain poncho. Zip up your clothes, and try to get under as much cover as you can to stay dry. But if you do get wet, don’t worry -- you’ll be OK, You can dry off afterward.
12. We may not find you until after it gets dark. If that happens, you’ll have to stay where you are in the dark. It’s OK. Stay covered under your poncho, as warm as possible. If you’re still cold, you can stuff leaves into your jacket and pants to add more insulation. Noises you hear are just that – noises. So try not to let them spook you. And you might want to make a fire…
13. How to make a fire:
a. Clear a flat area of ground. Take all the branches, leaves, rocks, everything away so nothing will burn unless you want it to. We don’t want to start a forest fire! Look up to make sure there are no low-hanging tree limbs.
b. If you can find some rocks nearby, gather them and make a fire ring in the center of the cleared area. Try not to use wet rocks – the heat can make them explode!
c. Gather as many dead branches and fallen pieces of wood as you can, at least two arm-loads. Don’t pull branches off the trees unless you have to. You’ll need two types – stuff like dry brown leaves that you can use to get the fire going, and heavier, thicker branches that will keep the fire going for a while.
d. Build it into a pile in the middle of your fire ring. Push some of your tinder under the pile, and use your firesteel to start the fire. Slowly feed it wood. Once you’ve run out, you won’t have a fire until you can find more wood, so do your best to keep it going as long as possible. You may have to gather
10 to 12 armloads of branches to last the night. It doesn’t have to be bright and super-hot to be a good fire.
e. Don’t breathe in the smoke. Be careful not to dangle your clothes too close to the fire – you don’t want them to catch on fire.
f. When it’s light again, make sure the fire’s out as best you can.
g. AND ALWAYS – DON’T FORGET – IF YOU"RE NOT CAREFUL YOU CAN GET BURNED. So BE CAREFUL!
14. Keep looking at our family picture. WE ARE COMING TO FIND YOU. Don’t lose hope, and stay safe.