Emergency Preparedness: Natural and Human-Generated Disasters

•  Describe each of the disaster scenarios you have chosen (such as a hurricane that has quickly developed in your area) and a real or hypothetical early childhood setting (such as a Head Start program housed on a university campus near the coast). What are the main dangers posed by these situations? Who is at risk?

The first disaster scenario that I have chosen is a quickly developed storm that has placed my licensed home daycare in the threat of a tornado.  The main dangers posed by this situation is that a tornado will hit, causing damage to my home.  This disaster could potentially harm myself and the children in my care if I am not appropriately prepared to deal with a situation like this.

The second Scenario that I have chosen to use for this assignment is a gunman who is on the loose in my area.  The main dangers of this particular scenario is that there is a mentally handicap person on the loose who is trying to hurt anyone in their path.  This gunman has the potential to hurt myself and the children whom are in my care.   

 •  Explain why you and your colleagues should be prepared. What are the consequences of not being prepared?

In both scenarios that I have provided above it is very important for me to be prepared.  If I am not prepared, the lives of many children will be at risk. 

•  Summarize the appropriate steps you would take to develop a plan in advance for this disaster and how you would deal with it if it occurs.

In order to prepare myself to deal with a situation where a tornado was forming close to my home while I had children in my care, there are a few different steps that I would take in order to develop a plan.  I would first pack a bag that had things to entertain my children during this situation.  I would also pack snacks and drinks just in case we were stuck somewhere for a long period of time.  Packing diapers for children who needed them as well as other necessities for any other children in my care.  I would also make sure to have a charged cell phone at all times to keep in contact with emergency personnel and parents.  I would conduct drills so that they children know what to do in a situation like this in order to make our reaction time quick.  If this happened in real life, I would quickly gather my children into the hallway which is the safest area in my home.  I would take out toys to entertain the children while getting in contact with parents to let them know that we are responding to the threats.  I would sit patiently and try hard to entertain my children and keep them calm during the storm. 

In order to prepare myself to deal with a situation where a gunman is on the loose, I would also conduct drills with the children.  I would teach the oldest child here a code word that she would know meant to retreat to our safe spot.  I would pack a bag much like the one I packed for the tornado scenario.  I would have drinks and snacks, toys to entertain and other necessity items such as diapers and medicines.  If this were to happen in a real life situation, I would first make sure all doors were locked and that all the blinds were closed.  I would rush children into the bathroom which has no windows and I would lock myself and the children in the bathroom.  I would get in contact with emergency personnel to make sure they knew I was here with a group of children and to ask them to contact me when we were safe to come out.  I would also contact parents to let them know that we were in a safe place waiting for emergency personnel to tell us we were safe to come out.

 •  Explain how you would assess the risks.

In both scenario cases, I would assess the risks by watching the news and keeping in close contact with emergency personnel.  

•  Identify potential complications created by this disaster besides the main disaster/danger itself.

In both cases it is possible that child would not cooperate with me during the disaster.  Depending upon the child's age, I would respond differently.  I would tell them the importance of them listening and if I had to I would use bribery to get the children in a safe place quickly.  Another complication that could occur is that I don't have enough time to grab the bag I have prepared for a situation like this.  I would do my best to entertain the children by singing and playing games with them until it was safe to come out.   

•  Describe any other steps you and/or your early childhood program should take to be prepared to handle this kind of crisis. What kinds of materials or documentation (e.g., first aid supplies, family emergency contact information, and so on) would be necessary and/or helpful?

I think it is important to make parents aware of how you will react to different disaster situations.  That way, if they cannot get in contact with you, they will know what you are doing with their child while they cannot reach you.  Keeping emergency contact information handy is so important for disasters such as the two that I have listed above.  Having the parents fill out a form with their emergency contact information will help me to contact them in an emergency like the two scenarios above. 

•  Explain how you might involve the families of the children in your care.

I would involve the families of the children in my care by letting them know our process that we take when there is an emergency.  I would also encourage them to speak to their children about the drills that occur during the time they are in my care.  Having the parents talk to their children about different disasters so that if they occur they will not be brand new to them would be helpful as well.