The most effective way to prepare your children for an emergency is to educate them before it happens. Your family needs to know emergency numbers, fire evacuation techniques, and people they can call or places they can go in an emergency.

The most essential part of this preparation is communicating and talking with your children, stresses Dr. Lise Christensen, pediatric emergency physician at East Tennessee Children's Hospital. "Children will be better prepared for each situation if all types of emergency circumstances have been talked about in a calm and educating manner. We believe in some circumstances if that family and children had been prepared for an emergency, it might have prevented an Emergency Room visit," said Dr. Christensen. "Teaching a child to be prepared for emergency situations may help them get to the hospital quicker, then hopefully be treated and sent home sooner."

Parents also must consider every safety possibility, Dr. Christensen said, and having emergency numbers on hand is a necessary part of being prepared. "It is very easy to become disoriented and scared in an emergency situation, so all important phone numbers should be readily available ahead of time," she said.

Phone numbers should be printed neatly and clearly so that it is easy for children to read. Use dark colored ink in case of dim lighting or if the numbers must be read with a flashlight. Include the following list of numbers among your own personal list for the best possible safety resources:

• Emergency Medical Services -- 911 (This may be different in your area, so check your local phone book.)
  
• Poison Control Center
  


• Hospital Emergency Room
  


• Fire Department
  


• Police Department
  


• Your Child's Pediatrician
  


• Pharmacist
  


• Parent(s) at work/cell phone/pager, etc.
  


• Neighbor/relative
  


• Your own list of emergency numbers
  

Accidents can happen in every part of the home, so make copies of the list and place one near every telephone in the house. Also familiarize babysitters, relatives or friends who take care of your children in your home with the list as well.

Once the numbers are posted throughout the house and you have gone over the specific numbers with your children, explain to your child how to place those important emergency calls. All children over the age of four should be taught how to place emergency calls. The child will need to know how to call for emergency rescue assistance in your town and how to respond to the operator. Necessary information like the child's full name and full address can be hard to remember when a child is upset by an emergency, but practicing these calls can help them remember in a difficult situation.

Practicing the calls and possible situations may make a world of a difference in an emergency. Once an emergency arises in your home, it may be that four-year-old who has to make that call when you are the one hurt or cannot get to the phone. With proper education and practice, an emergency situation may be easily resolved or necessary assistance can quickly be on the way to help.

East Tennessee Children's Hospital is a private, independent, not-for-profit pediatric medical center which has served the East Tennessee region for over 65 years and is certified by the state of Tennessee as a Comprehensive Regional Pediatric Center.

Editor's Note:   Children's Hospital's Healthy Kids program is a community education initiative of the Community Relations Department. The program serves as an education resource for parents by offering classes, literature and other opportunities for learning how to improve the health and well being of children. For more information or to sign up for classes, call the Healthy Kids Hotline at (865) 541-8262.