As a parent, there’s nothing more important to me than the safety and well-being of my children. Recently, I discovered a startling gap in our family’s emergency preparedness: my seven-year-old son didn’t know my or my husband’s cell phone numbers by heart, and he struggled to remember our home address. I realized that, in an emergency, this lack of knowledge could leave us vulnerable. I want to share our experience, what we’ve done to fix it, and offer a free resource to help your family get prepared too.
A Wake-Up Call
It dawned on me during a casual conversation. I asked my son if he knew our phone numbers, and his blank expression was all the answer I needed. My initial reaction was worry – what if he ever got lost or needed to call us in an emergency? This was a situation we could easily address, so I decided it was time to take action and involve our whole family in the solution.
Taking Steps to Prepare
First, we made a list of the essential information he should know:
1. Our cell phone numbers
2. Our home address
3. Basic instructions on how to use any phone to contact emergency services
Since we don’t have a landline, we also taught him how to use Alexa to call for help and how to access emergency services on a cell phone. Teaching these steps turned out to be simpler than I expected, and he quickly picked up the basics.
Creating a Safe, Accessible Place for Key Information
We realized that having this information accessible to him was also essential. So, we put together a small “family emergency contact card” template. We listed out our phone numbers, home address, and a few trusted relatives’ contact numbers. We laminated this card and keep it in a safe but easily reachable place in our home. That way, if he ever needs a refresher or an immediate reference, it’s right there.
Sharing Our Free Printable Template
This process inspired us to create a simple, printable emergency contact template to help other families who may also find themselves in a similar situation. We’re offering this template as a free download on our site, and we hope it brings you the same peace of mind it brought us. You can customize it with your family’s information and keep it in an accessible spot – even slip it into your child’s backpack or store it in a drawer they know about.
We hope you’ll never need to use it, but being prepared is essential. For us, this small step toward preparedness has made all the difference in feeling ready for the unexpected. We hope it brings you comfort and confidence, too.
Download the free template using the link below! And let’s stay prepared, together!
https://delivery.shopifyapps.com/-/34e68d6239eb2aaa/9090cfa17ec0a7c1