Kids Dealing With Emergencies

At home with only my young children for company, I had a medical emergency and my son picked up the phone and called the emergency line for an ambulance, giving his full name, my full name, our full address, and our home phone number.  I spent the better part of

We put a lot of effort into teaching our children all manner of things, but I have noticed many children would not be able to tell a responsible adult their full name, their parents' names, or how to contact them, if they became lost.  Fewer still know how to call the emergency line for police, fire, or ambulance.  It isn't difficult to teach them and they can learn it quite quickly. 

Our children learn their first names fairly easily.  On their lunchbox, drawings, and anything else you can safely put their full name on, do it.  Let them see it, hear it, and learn it.   While you are at it, write the names of all other immediate family members on things.  Make a collage of photos or a photo book, get the child to draw pictures of their family, and get them to write everyone's full name below each photo or picture.  Get them writing lists of their family members, putting them in orders.  Tallest to shortest, oldest to youngest, alphabetical, who finished their lunch first to last, and any other ways you can think of to get the child learning everyone's full names.  Put everyone's full name on their bedroom door, their bed head, their toybox, wardrobe, etc.  Of course, let your children know they are still to use the titles of Mum, Dad, Grandma, etc; but they need to learn your proper name as well.

Take the child for walks around the neighbourhood.  Read street names.  Look at house numbers.  Get the child to read and learn their street name and number.  Look at and draw maps of your area with your child.  Name the streets, draw in and number the houses.  Which one is your house?  Then expand it.  Look at bigger maps and name the suburbs.  Which one is your street in?  Which one do you shop at?  Where is school/childcare/kindy?  Where is your favourite playground?  This not only teaches the child their address, but also what is in their area, where is safe, and even how to get home if they get separated from you.  Play roleplaying games with them.  Drive the toy car to the shop and home again using the maps you have drawn.  The dolls walk to school and back.  The teddybears go to the park and back for their picnic.  Teach them how to identify which buses stop closest to home, and how to get on that bus and make it stop at your closest bus-stop.  Let them be the one to tell the taxi driver where you are going when you are getting a taxi home.

Teach them where to go and who to ask for help if they become lost or hurt.  Teach them to identify the store clerks and security guards at your local shopping centres.  Taxi drivers (but tell the child not to get into the taxi), bus drivers, and train drivers have 2-way radios and can get help for the child.  Police officers.  Which neighbours can they turn to for help?  School teachers - even if it isn't their school.  Teach them to identify safety houses and other safe places like health centres, community centres, hospitals, etc.  Add this into your roleplaying with the cars, dolls, or teddybears.  Teddy is lost, dolly is hurt, the car has broken down, now what do we do?

Teaching them a phone number is also important.  When I find your child wandering around lost or hurt, how do I call you to say your child needs you if they can't tell me what number to call?  It doesn't matter if it is a home phone number, a mobile/cell phone, or grandmas phone number, so long as they know a number they can call for help.  Again, roleplaying.  Toy phones or old disconnected phones, type in the number, pretend to make the call.  Make a numbers game:  Which of these numbers is our phone number?  And eventually, teach them - using the same roleplaying on unconnected phones method - how to call for the police, fire, and ambulance. 

One thing to be wary off is that some kids love the excitement of seeing emergency vehicles with sirens blazings and lights flashing rocking up at their house, so be very careful to teach them well when they should make that emergency call, and that calling emergency for real is a serious thing, not a game!!!

Now here's something that may seem pointless to some, but it's actually quite necessary.  Many adults don't know how to call for police, fire, or ambulance.  You can't teach your kids if you don't know how to do it yourself, so here is how it goes:

What I have provided applies specifically to Australia.  By my understanding, most countries operate in much the same way.  Some adjustment may be required according to your country, but at least this should give a good idea on what might be expected.  If anyone can add to this what any  differences in how to make the call are, I'm sure other people would appreciate it.  Many countries have different numbers to call according to which emergency service is required.  At the end of this article, I have listed some numbers for other countries, and an internet site where all the other numbers I haven't listed can be looked up.

The most important thing is, STAY CALM.  The operator will not be able to understand what you are saying if you are paniced, talking too fast, screaming, crying, etc.  And DO NOT hang up the phone until the operator has hung up first.  They may need extra information, or if you can not provide the phone number from the phone you are calling from they may attempt to trace the call.

In Australia, dial 000

(For those reliant on a teletypewriter dial 016.  Those with GSM digital mobile phone outside their provider network dial 112.  Unless absolutely necessary, don't confuse your children with these numbers, as it is highly unlikely they will ever need to use them and we want to keep this simple.  It's hard enough for some people to remember 000 in an emergency without filling our heads with extra info.  Only take note of these numbers if you or your children already completely rely on these services.) 

NB:  If calling from a mobile phone, the first thing the operator needs to know is what State you are phoning from, otherwise...

1.  The operator will simply say, "Police, Fire, or Ambulance?"  You must state which service you want by saying simply  "Ambulance", or which ever is needed according to the situation.  (Obviously, medical emergencies require an ambulance, fires require the fire brigade, and when someone's life in being threatened and/or a serious crime is being committed the police are required.  In the event of something like a car accident where people are seriously injured and a fire has started, it is easier to just say "Police" and once you are put through, tell them the details and they will call for the ambulance and fire brigade as required.)

2.  The operator, once they know which service you require, will transfer you.

3.  Then another operator will answer with the name of the service you have reached (eg: "Ambulance.").  They need to know:

a)  What the nature of the emergency is. (someone unconscious, someone being assaulted, house on fire, etc)

b)  Where the emergency is. (Address, and if possible, the nearest cross road or landmark)

c).  Any other relevant information that can be given.  The operator will ask questions about the situation and all that is required is honest simple answers.  What questions are asked depend on the situation.

It is good to pracitse different situations, especially ones that the child may be unfortunate enough to witness.  Mummy is asleep and I can't wake her up.  Daddy fell off the roof and broke his leg and he's bleeding lots.  Grandma fell over and she can't get up.  The kitchen is on fire.  A stranger has come into the house and is hurting my parents, I'm hiding in the closet... etc.

Keep in mind and teach your children:  The emergency services are there for emergencies only.  Teach your children how to recognise the difference between a situation that is scary for them and one that is a genuine emergency.  For example, my son freaks out and screams "FIRE!" at the smallest flame or puff of smoke, or the smallest beep from the smoke alarm, but knows to only call emergency when a fire is out of the control of the adults present - including when adults can't respond for any reason.  Also teach your children the difference between what is safe and what is dangerous.

Situations whereby calling emergency is appropriate:  Any injury or illness that is life-threatening, or requires immediate urgent medical attention and the casuallty can not get to hospital by any other means.  Someone trying to break into your home while you are at home.  Hostage situations.  Any fire that has gotten out of control.  Serious assaults, such as with a weapon or where the victim is at risk of being seriously injured or killed (for example, I'm not talking about having a cold drink thrown in your face, but hydrochloric acid would qualify).

Situations whereby calling emergency is NOT appropriate:  Someone has a minor injury or illness that is not life threatening and they are able to get to a doctor or hospital by another means.  You discover your home was burgled while you were out but the intruders are long gone (by all means, call the police, but not on the emergency line).  A saucepan on the stove has caught fire but is quickly snuffed out by putting a lid on it and turning off the heat.  A snake (that hasn't bitten anyone) is found too close to - or in - your home.

For other countries:

Canada and USA, dial 911          United Kingdom, dial 999          Europe, dial 112          New Zealand, dial 111        Japan, dial 119

For a full list of emergency numbers world-wide go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number#Worldwide