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?