Field-TestedBeginner · 1 hour

Teaching Kids the Family Emergency Plan

Make sure children know where to meet, who to call, and how to get help — through practice, not lectures.

Question 1

The goal

Every child can recite contacts and meeting places and has practiced them.

Question 2

Question 3

Material	Household	Wilderness	Urban / scavenged
Contact card	Index card, tape	Marker on backpack	Print shop lamination

Question 4

1
Choose two meeting places: one right outside the home (a mailbox or tree) and one outside the neighborhood (library, relative's house).
2
Choose an out-of-area contact — long-distance calls/texts often get through when local lines are jammed.
3
Make a wallet card for each child with names, numbers, address, allergies and meeting places.
4
Teach children to dial 911 and practice what to say: name, address, what happened.
5
Walk to both meeting places together and point out landmarks.
6
Run a fire drill: push smoke alarm test button, get low, touch doors for heat, exit, go to meeting spot.
7
Pack small go-bags together: water, snack, flashlight, comfort item, extra clothes, card copy.
8
Explain the plan calmly and give children jobs (carrying the flashlight, holding the pet leash) — jobs reduce fear.
9
Practice twice a year and when kids change schools.
10
Find out each school's emergency and pickup plan.

Question 5

Under stress, people fall back on practiced routines. Rehearsal builds procedural memory, so kids act instead of freezing.

Question 6

Question 7

Each child can say the contacts and meeting spots and completes a drill in under 2 minutes.

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