TAAT just asked my children what to do in an emergency ...

[annie987]

Oh dear!! They didn’t!
We have taught this, we did role play when they were younger and they didn’t know!!!
One said call 111
The other said call 911
They are both 12. Oh dear!
We have now been through it all again.

I suppose at least 111 gets them through to the NHS helpline, so if it’s a medical emergency they’d still get an ambulance.

But good reminder to go through this with my DC, thank you!

I've had similar experiences and realised you have to go through/practice regularly or they forget or panic. So now we have fire drills every few months and go through the 999/111/101 process every so often to remi d everyone.

I just asked my 8 yr old (who is autistic) who immediately said "call 999 and ask for an ambulance" and gave me the face. I asked him if he knew what they might need to know and he said "yes, location and problem".

He's a bit of a rote learner though, he would remember this sort of stuff but can't find the socks I handed him to put on less than a minute ago

You all really do this? It's a thing?

That’s better than what my son was told AT SCHOOL - if there’s a fire you must get out of your house and run to the nearest telephone box to call 999 for the fire service.

I told him that getting out is good, but he’s to run to the neighbour’s house as if he runs to the phone box he will still be running 2 miles later. I don’t recall seeing one in the local area anytime recently.

Isn’t it amazing that schools insist on telling fairy tales as historical facts but don’t insist on teaching CPR / emergency situations

This is the closest we get to emergency training at the moment he is 6 but has difficulties

I've been teaching my kids this since I became a single mum. I had this anxiety I would fall down the stairs and nobody would find my body 😂

Just read the same thread and asked my 2. Dd13 knew but was surprised to find ds8 didn't. We have talked about it before so he has obviously forgotten but I am going to make a small card of emergency contacts and put it by the phone.

We got told by St John Ambulance that calling 911 in the UK automatically redirects to 999 which they've done as so many US shows get shown here and teach kids to call 911... so they weren't entirely wrong!

I’ve just asked my 18 year old (aspergers) what he’d do if he found me on the floor and not breathing. He said he would put me in recovery position. I reminded him I’m not breathing so he said he’d start CPR ... I asked what he’d do first and he was confused and so I reminded him that ambulance needs calling first. Sometimes it’s about the order of the response. You could know all the right things to do but the order in which to do them could mean the difference between life and death.

I gave my 6yo the scenario of my being hurt and needing an ambulance and asked what he’d do.

He said ‘DIAL 999’

He’s Autistic.

I just cannot believe a 14yo wouldn’t be able to do that.

And yes, 911 does go directly to our emergency services ... I know through first hand experience!

I have a list of contact numbers taped to the kitchen cupboard. We talked about what to do in an emergency when they went to secondary school and I started leaving the in on their own.

if there’s a fire you must get out of your house and run to the nearest telephone box to call 999 for the fire service.

Not 100% sure mine would even know what a phone box looks like. And I don’t know where the nearest one Is.

Tigers roll - it shouldn't be down to school to teach children every life skill you know. It should be down to parents too.

FWIW - I don't teach fairy tales as historical fact. I assume your talking about RE here, rather than Goldilocks. We teach it as 'some people believe' unless you go to a church school perhaps.

Oh and we do teach basic 999, etc through role play and interactions with emergency services visiting schools. In fact we've also done some basic life saving skills and first aid, including cpr, with year 2.

You're not your

Hmm just tried this with my 4 year old. I think it would’ve been straight forward apart from having the added complication of trying to teach her how to use a locked iPhone as we don’t have a landline (never bothered, ours hasn’t worked for years)

Do they have a lifeskills centre where you live?

I worked as a call handler for the ambulance service, might be patronising but not everyone knows

Make sure they know the address
They must not hang up until 999 says they can
Basic first aid - towel and pressure on blood, cool water on burns, don't shove anything in someone's mouth if they're unconscious or fitting
If they ring 999 accidentally then stay on the phone and tell them it isn't an emergency and it was an accident/pocket dial

For adults
HOUSE NUMBERS. Make sure they're visible. It is a nightmare to find some places, forget fancy signs, make it big and visible in the dark, use a light or glow in the dark paint if you need to
If you ring an ambulance and it's say 3am, put all the lights on, outside lights etc and stand outside and flag them down. If you're along and it's you that needs help, make sure the door is open or say you can't open it

Going in an ambulance doesn't mean you skip the queue
Lying about symptoms means you're taking an ambulance away from someone who needs it more
Listen to the questions. Don't say they're not breathing if they are

Just asked DS (just turned 4) what to do in an emergency and he said "Get help". I asked what to do if Mummy is sick and daddy isn't home and he said "I can call for help on your phone" when I asked what number he'd call he said "9..9..1"

DH overheard and then asked what to do if there is a fire in our house and DS said "I have to get out and be safe. If mummy and daddy aren't safe I can go and ask the lady next door for help. Or maybe I can ask their dog for help"

Passthecherrycoke - you don't have to use the passcode to access emergency services on an iPhone.

If it has a home button tap that and there is the emergency button on the screen.
If no home screen press and hold side button and volume buttons

It’s the home screen- emergency call- 999- green button part that’s hard to teach. I’m not trying to teach her the passcode (she’d be doing all sorts!)

This really isn’t a stealth boast; ds1 is now 4 and he’s known to call 999 for police, ambulance and fire service for well over a year.

Our NDN had a fire and we evacuated in the very early hours of the morning. He couldn’t understand how the firefighters knew they were needed so we had to explain to him - repeatedly! Guess it was significant enough to him that it stuck

Going to the next door neighbour is actually a far better idea for a 4 year old, I didn’t think of that. They might not be in of course but worth mentioning

10yr old DD given a fridge on fire scenario said she would ring 999 and go outside. She knows our address.

Mine have been to a few kids first aid courses so it appears to have sunk in.