Between "goo-goo-ga-ga" and "Stop, drop and roll"

By Whitney

by Whitney

We all remember safety drills from elementary school, right? There were ones in which you had to evacuate, hide under the desk, stop, drop and roll, or practice your knowledge of some other emergency response technique.

At the school where my dad was a teacher, they even added “maniac drills” to their roster of responses, as a reaction to the Columbine incident. Students, and more importantly, teachers, were trained to lock classroom doors and respond only to a special knock, a safety technique to be employed if there was an intruder on campus.

But what about our little kids? I am reluctant to talk in too much detail about all of the perils of the world with my preschooler. He already worries about “bad guys.” So, do I have to introduce the idea that buildings may start crumbling around us at any moment? He is too young to be accountable for knowing things like where to go, what to bring, etc.

What knowledge can I arm him with? How can I help my 21-month-old and my 4-year-old be prepared for the unexpected?

role play

Role play is the primary way we can engage these little guys in safety drills.

We can pretend to see a fire and rehearse crawling out of the room on our bellies.
We can talk about what firefighters, police officers and ambulances do for us when we pretend to drive those siren-boasting cars.
We can practice proper safety etiquette whenever we do imaginative play, buckling seat belts when we get into pretend cars, putting on life vests when we are on a boat and so on.

What techniques have you used to drill your little ones on safety procedures?

Photo by Ryan Currier. Some rights reserved. Usage does not constitute photographer’s endorsement.