5 steps to create an effective emergency action plan for kids

Only 16% of second and third grade students successfully reported an emergency, according to a recent study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The challenge? Kids need to know how to call for help and have experience practicing it as part of their family’s emergency action plan.

Here are five key steps for teaching kids how to identify and respond to an emergency—with insights about how tech can help when your family needs it most.

Define what an emergency is. Kids need to be able to distinguish non-emergency situations from those that necessitate a call to 911, says Kristee Lauro, Senior Associate for Community Preparedness Education and Youth Preparedness at the American Red Cross. “Some emergencies warrant a child calling for emergency services, such as a home fire or if their grown-up needs emergency medical intervention.”

For example, if someone is hurt, it’s an emergency, says April Heinze, Vice President and Chief of 9-1-1 Operations at the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). “For non-emergencies—like losing a toy or dealing with minor disagreements—kids should be encouraged to seek help from a trusted adult instead.”

• Parent tip: Quiz your kids on what an emergency is, and then get them talking about how they’d respond in a range of hypothetical scenarios—including whether an appropriate response would include calling 911.

Add tech to your emergency action plan. Only 25% of households have a landline, so it’s important for kids to be aware of the options they have when it comes to calling for help. These can include tools like smart speakers or smartphones.

“For example, both iPhones and Android devices have an emergency call option on the lock screen,” says Heinze. Smart speakers may have their own emergency support services in place, like Nest Aware for the Google Nest Hub Max.

Parent tip: If kids don’t have their own smart devices, it’s important for them to know how to bypass security settings (such as face ID or a passcode) to contact emergency services using a locked device. To make emergency calls from a password-protected phone:

• iOS phone
• Android phone

Teach clear, calm communication. Kids should be prepared to answer questions from a dispatcher and know that they need to stay on the line until they are instructed to hang up. “They should also know how to describe what is happening, such as whether someone is hurt, if there’s a fire or if they see something dangerous,” says Heinze. “Parents can help by practicing responses so the kids feel confident answering questions during a call to 911.”

• Parent tip: “Kids should also memorize a parent’s or guardian’s primary phone number and their home address,” Lauro says.

Practice, practice, practice. Taking time to run through your family’s emergency action plan greatly increases the likelihood that your kids will know how to respond in an actual emergency. “Just as you should practice your home fire escape plan monthly and test your smoke alarms twice a year, add your emergency communications rehearsal to that schedule of preparedness activities,” says Lauro.

• Parent tip: Role-playing can be a useful tool for helping kids feel more confident in their emergency skills. “Families can set up mock emergency drills where children practice unlocking phones, using the emergency call features and speaking to a pretend 911 professional,” says Lauro.

Have some non-tech options in place. While smart tech offers a dependable way to call for help in your emergency action plan, it’s important for kids to have a few non-tech options they can use in an emergency scenario.

• Parent tip: If there’s a power outage or phones are down, make sure your child knows a trusted adult who can be reached without the use of technology, says Lauro. “This could be a neighbor or family member—someone in close walking distance who can be included in your preparedness discussions.”

Knowing and practicing possible responses in your family’s emergency action plan ultimately helps kids develop confidence, increasing the likelihood that they’ll think clearly in a challenging situation. “Disasters of any kind can be scary and overwhelming,” says Lauro. “So talk to your children about what they can expect and how they may feel.”

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