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Be Prepared
Teaching Your Teen How to Act in an Emergency By Sue Marquette Poremba
Sam* was 18 years old when he had his first car accident. "It was a slippery, nasty night," says his mother, Mary Robertson*. "The wind was blowing. Visibility was OK, but it was very cold out. He hit some very hard packed snow that acted like a ramp, and he skidded into a large tree. He smashed the hood of the car, but he was OK."
Luckily, Sam knew what to do after the accident. "I know he covered this in driving school, but it was nothing we ever discussed," Robertson says. "We've gone over lots of defensive driving techniques, but I never discussed post-accident events."
Most kids learn at an early age when and how to call 911 in case of an emergency. We teach our children important survival tools such as escape routes if the house needs to be evacuated or who to approach if the family gets separated at a crowded amusement park. However, once the basics are covered, parents often neglect preparing teenage or young adult children for emergency situations. Like Robertson, parents often focus on keeping safe, and forget (or want to deny) the possibility that something could go wrong. Consequently, teenagers are moving into an independent lifestyle without the skills to handle a crisis.
- Potential auto accidents, including riding with inexperienced drivers in overloaded cars and alcohol as a contributor Teens should be prepared for this and should know how to refuse getting into this type of situation. In addition, use of seatbelts is critical to injury (or death) avoidance.
- Fire at home Have a family emergency escape plan, and practice it.
- Home invasion Opening doors to strangers should be on your discussion list.
