Preparing for Emergencies

We hope all of you are doing well! Every month, CBC has a new theme. This month is Preparing for Emergencies.

In addition to our monthly theme, we are conducting Evacuation Drills at our San Gabriel office from March 13-16. It is part of our ongoing training to prepare our clients and staff to safely evacuate the building in case of an emergency. To build on our training efforts from previous years, we are not announcing, in advance, the exact time of the daily drill.

Here are a few tips to help your children prepare for emergencies:

  • Teach them about various kinds of natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, ice storms, and blizzards.
  • Create a family emergency plan and prepare an emergency kit together.
  • Make sure your kids know what to do if an emergency happens.

Helping children cope:

  • Children may become stressed and react in different ways.
  • Take their fears seriously and let them know that it is okay to feel scared.
  • Explain the events as best as you can. and acknowledge what’s frightening about what happened.
  • Tell your children what you think and feel. Doing so helps them feel less alone if they know that their feelings are similar to yours.
  • Maintain familiar routines, like mealtimes and regular bedtime hours.
  • While parents can play an important role in helping children deal with anxiety, it may be helpful to talk to a professional who can help children understand and cope with their emotions.

Practice/Role-play

  • Familiarize child when emergency situations to help reduce panic or anxiety in case of a real emergency.
    1. You can create a game with scenarios for your children to test their knowledge.
    2. Adapt scenarios accordingly to your children’s age and development.
    3. Practice several times a year so that your children are as prepared as possible to deal with emergencies.

Source: Get Prepared Canada