Those critical first few hours or days after a disastrous incident can be some of the most important moments for the survival of you and your child.
This article isn?t about the many skills needed to make a long trudge through a protracted survival situation; it?s about gathering your pieces of life back together in order to start over again. If you need some starting points on how to teach those skills to your child, you might want to see the previous article on helping your child learn survival skills.
As the recent storms that hit the U.S. East Coast demonstrated, your life can be turned upside down very quickly.
From unexpected everyday situations to emergencies like a harsh storm, sudden flood, large power outage, or urban conflict, your child can be quickly cut off from your help before you know it.
But, your child can also be prepared.
Specific knowledge of neighborhoods and systems of living and transportation vary between urban centers of the world.
New York is different from Jakarta, Moscow from Tokyo, Durban from Belmopan, Santiago from Copenhagen, Cairo from Addis Ababa, Bamako, Maputo, Sao Tome?
However, there are some skills and plans that can be used in many urban settings. Every family needs a ?Bug In? or ?Get Home? plan.
Many people have read about ?Bug Out? bags and plans for getting away, but should these be the only considerations? Perhaps the primary situation for which to prepare a child in an urban setting is that of being away from you and your home when an emergency strikes the area.
Preparing Your Get Home Kit
A simple ?Get Home Kit? could include a cell phone, some cash, some subway tokens, an energy bar, a small bottle of water, a street map, a bright bandana that you?ve both seen, a whistle, and a small flashlight in the child?s backpack. You know your city and should adjust this kit to fit your situation.
A little physical fitness can go a long way. Your child doesn?t have to be an Olympic athlete, but making sure that he lets go of the video games or TV sometimes and even simply walks regularly will really improve his chances in a survival situation.
If your child has a disability, your coordination with others is even more crucial to ensure that there is enough care available.
Avoid the temptation to load your child down with equipment for every conceivable situation. This is a common mistake and, just as commonly, children end up not having any of it when it?s needed because it?s too much weight or bulk to tote around every day.
1. Stay Put
Just like wilderness survival, it?s best for the child to stay where he or she is if it?s safe. Like in the woods, people searching for him will probably head directly to the child?s last known location.
?Safe? refers to physical surroundings as well as human, health, and similar concerns.
Remember that many events can cause dangerous falling debris, flooding, downed power lines, and other hazards for a long time after the initial destruction, so the child should find a protected area that still has structural integrity while staying in the company of trusted adults such as a teacher.
If phone services are working, obviously, you and your child should use them to communicate. Hopefully, you?ve taught your child about using 911 for help, too.
If you talk with your child and know the location, if possible, it is best for your child to stay put until you reach her. It?s simply safer for a child to stay in an identified location rather than leave it.
However, it is not unusual for phone service to be restricted or even completely gone. If so, your child should know what to do.
Again, the best situation is for your child to stay in a safe, known location. If she?s been relocated to another position (by flooding or transport by emergency personnel, for instance), she should try to stay there if it?s safe.
Whenever she moves, she should leave a note before moving. Practice finding good ways to do this.
At the very least, the child should write her name and where she?s going. ?Melanie-Aunt Anna.? If she can, include a date and time. If all you find is this message, you will know she was still alive at that time and where she planned to go when she left. Find places and ways to leave the note that will help to ensure it will be there for you to read when you arrive.
Tack the note to a prominent wall. Use a marker or paint to put it on the part of the stairs that?s not turned to rubble. Try to make it secure (not simply left on a table, etc., where it might be knocked off or blown away) and easy to see or in some predetermined or obvious location-it?s of no use if you can?t find it.
3. Secondary Help
If there?s one thing that disasters and conflicts in many areas of the globe have taught us about child survival in urban settings, it?s that your child will be safer in the care of a trusted adult.
I?ve seen some of the results of these situations. There are many examples of children being endangered physically, psychologically, and sexually when alone following a disaster or the initiation of war.
Where is your child during much of the day? At school? If so, is there a parent, relative, or friend you truly trust who lives near the school and can pick up your child? Have you given written permission to the school to turn over your child to this person? Are you comfortable with giving that person permission to take your child?
4. Backup
Ok, let?s presume neither you nor Aunt Anna show up; what next? If your child is at school or some other safe public location with people in positions of trust such as teachers or emergency personnel, her best option is to stay there.
If your child is not in a safe situation, and none of the options above is readily available, he will have to consider moving. If it?s close enough and still in good condition, he might go to your home. If not, have another safe spot to meet that?s near his location.
Your child needs to continue watching out for falling debris and unsafe situations while moving.
This could be your secondary?s house, a fire station, police station, hospital, public utilities building, supermarket, or other public spot that both of you know and can find easily. It might be better to try for the closest safe place rather than having the risks of traveling a long distance.
Carrying some cash that might help your child in this situation is a good idea. Credit card services have been known to fail during emergencies. A spare subway ticket or similar is a good idea as well.
While this article isn?t meant to cover all aspects of survival it is, hopefully, a starting point for you to decide how you, yourself, will make your own plan to keep your child safe and reconnect during the crucial early stages of a crisis.
Your Reason for Doing This in the First Place
A final point: remember the reasons you want to survive.
Plan and prepare, but try to avoid the pitfall of becoming so engrossed in planning for a disaster that might or might not happen in the future that you miss the life you have with your child today.
?Some people are making such thorough preparation for rainy days that they aren?t enjoying today?s sunshine.? ? William Feather
? Mark Dorr, All Rights Reserved
References & Image Credits:
(1) Wikimedia
(2) Wikipedia.org
(3) Wikimedia
(4) Brainy Quote
(5) Alexander Becker via photopin cc
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Mark Dorr grew up the son of a treasure hunter. His experiences and education led to working internationally in a variety of unique and amazing situations. MarkDorr has 55 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
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Source: http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2012/11/teach-child-urban-survival-skills/
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