Operator there's a Polar Bear in the Garden!

The other day I wasn't feeling too good. I spent most of the day trying to take it easy whilst trying to carry out the chores for the day and look after the children. I tweeted about it and got a few concerned @replies letting me know that people cared. I told them that I had checked that Top Ender knew what to do in an emergency and was now getting some air to try to shake off the dizzy and sick feeling.

I originally taught Top Ender how to dial 999 when I was pregnant with Baby Boy. I had visions of something going wrong when only she and I were home so we practised how to make an emergency call and how to contact Daddy.

We would let her pretend to dial an emergency service and we would have a conversation as if we were the operator and then the service for the emergency. She would call for fires, car accidents, mummy not being able to be woken up and other things that Top Ender dreamt up such as a polar bear having escaped from the Zoo (that could happen you know!) or a thief who only stole things starting with the letter K breaking into the house.

After having gone over what to do I realised that now she would be alone in the house with her brother and so asked her what she would do with him until help arrived. She was quite happy with this and explained she would play with him and make sure if he cried that he didn't need a drink or something to eat (she knows how to help feed Baby Boy, but doesn't do it very often) and if all else failed to stop him from crying because he wanted me she would give him one of her toys or some chocolate, "which always stops him crying".

We realised that we would have to make a few changes (just in case) to make things easier for her. She is able able to reach her own cutlery and we keep a plate for her in a lower cupboard but Baby Boys things are kept higher up so we moved a spoon, a bowl and a cup down for him to her cupboard and we went over again where we keep snack foods for both her and Baby Boy.

I felt a little better after having got some air, so Top Ender didn't need to put our plan into action, but I know that in the future if something does happen we will be ready.

Please leave a comment though letting me know what else I should teach her, because I am sure I missed something here!

Comments

  1. How to open the door in an emergency, maybe? My bedroom door handle broke one morning and I couldn't get out, I phoned a friend to come over with tools to help me but my daughter had to open the door to let them in. Actually I also shouted her instructions to fetch me a blunt cutlery knife which she slid under the door and I managed to slide that in to release me just before friend arrived but all the same being able to open the door in an emergency will save the emergency services a lot of trouble. But knowing who to open it to only is also a good idea.

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  2. See I knew I had forgotten something! Top Ender knows where we keep the keys and can open the back door, but I think the front door may cause problems will have to go over that one with her!

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  3. Hi,
    It's funny you should talk about making sure your children know what to do in an emergency as I went through this with my 8 year old last week. We live in the Spanish countryside and my husband went back to the UK for a few days while we stayed here. It's not until you're alone that you think "What would Ben do if something happened to me?". So I wrote a list of numbers and showed him how to use the phone. His Spanish is pretty good so we practised what he'd say to the emergency services. The only other thing I had to do was write down directions to where we live as we're not on a street or anything, just in the middle of an olive field! Luckily the few days on our own went fine with no emergencies but it never hurts to practise.
    Cheers, Chloe

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  4. It is so important to make sure that our children would be able to cope in an emergency. This way even if something "minor" happens (at school or when they are at the park) you know that they shall know what to do and how to get help.

    Well done your Son for doing it in Spanish too though Chloe!

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