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DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Help children learn what to do in fire, earthquake, and getting lost — calmly, without scaring them.
The essentials if you need to act right now.
Teach name and address. Practice 112 on toy phone. Simple games for drills. Comfort job for child. Calm talk after.
What might I see? Observable signs — no diagnosis required.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Child freezes or cries when hearing siren — no practiced response.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Child treats emergency numbers as joke from overheard adult conversation.
Optional deeper explanation — not required to act.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Red Cross and WHO child safety programs use repetition and calm language — fear reduces recall.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Children who know address and 112 save time when separated in crowd or disaster.
Check the scene before you approach.
Civilian-safe actions you can take.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Use storybook or drawing — two ways out of home, one meeting tree.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Sing address to familiar tune — memory hook for young children.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Role-play: smoke smell — crawl to door, do not hide in cupboard.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Praise correct drill behaviour — builds confidence not fear.
When and how to get professional help.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Teach and practice. Adults lead real emergencies — children follow plan, do not rescue others alone.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Teach: 112 when adult unconscious, fire, or lost and scared with no adult.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Lost in mall — stay where visible, tell shopkeeper name and parent phone.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Persistent nightmares after real event — school counsellor or child helpline 1098.
Dangerous actions, when not to attempt rescue, and common myths.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT use graphic disaster videos with young children.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT punish child for wrong drill answer — correct gently and repeat.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Never talk about disasters with children — it traumatizes them
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Red Cross finds age-appropriate preparation reduces trauma during real events. Calm practice beats sudden chaos.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Child hides under bed in fire because flames were never explained with escape plan.
What you can do before an emergency happens.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Refresh teaching each school year and when family moves home.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Include children in packing their own small go-bag with comfort toy.
Other scenarios in the same family.
Disability prep
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Plan for wheelchair users, blind, deaf, and neurodiverse family members so emergencies do not cut access to mobility, communication, or medicine.
Earthquake prep
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Prepare your home and family for earthquakes — secure furniture, know drop-cover-hold, and plan for aftershocks.
Elderly prep
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Help elderly family members prepare for emergencies when mobility, memory, or chronic illness makes evacuation harder.
Heat prep
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Prepare for extreme heat — stay hydrated, keep home cool, and protect elderly, children, and outdoor workers.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Child ingests drill smoke alarm battery — poison helpline and hospital.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Children will naturally follow adults in emergency
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Instinct to hide is strong in children. Repeated drills build exit behaviour.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Child found in closet during house fire while parents searched outside.