Since we're in the middle of what's supposed to be tornado season in my area, I was wondering if anyone has a policy regarding severe weather. As in, do you send kids home if you know things are looking bad?

My house is 94 years old and has a basement-y cellar thing, but it's 100% not kid friendly. The stairs are under a trap door in the mud room and are super steep. The basement itself floods and gets pumped out several times a week... it's just gross down there.

My official severe weather plan is to go under the stairs leading to the second floor, but if know that's not necessarily a safe place. I have mostly infants and toddlers so if we were in there longer than a tornado drill it'd be crazy.

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I live in an area that doesn't get severe weather. In the past I have stayed open during snow storms when schools have been closed and it bothered me. I am changing my policy now to allow me to close as I see fit when weather is inclement. I don't want to risk the kids safety so that mom n dad can go grocery shopping with out their kids in tow for the storm. Every storm we had the parents would "work from home" and then drop off to me so that they can prepare for the storm. If I had severe weather coming as you may, I would now call for early pick ups.

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Normally, April/May are the worst storm/tornado months here....so I go by the school closing....if school lets out early, I close as well.

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I do not close for inclement weather because so often nothing happens. I'm in the process of debating a policy regarding pickups while a siren is going though.

From the sounds of it, under your stairs to the second level sounds better than the basement--if your basement floods that often I'd worry about it flooding while you were down there, especially if there was a lot of rain with the storm system that spawned the tornado, kwim?

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Oh, yeah, the basement's not even an option. I get the heebie jeebies going down there to pump out the water.. so there's no way I'm going down there with my dck's.

I know what you mean about nothing usually happening.

I was thinking along the lines of when they're telling us to take shelter, but before the sirens go off, kwim?

Pretty sure I'm way overthinking this, but since we've had such destructive storms in the past few years I've been worried more than usual

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Well, the way I see it...and being a total weather nerd to the point of contemplating because a trained weather spotter, lol....if it DOES get that bad, you are either screwed no matter what, or you will move heaven and earth to move the kiddos downstairs even in the middle of it (i.e. you look out your front window and you can SEE THE EF5 bearing down on your house).

Can you install an underground storm shelter in the backyard? Reinforce the area under the stairs? Something like that?

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For me I do not send home bad weather in the warm months . A tornado could hit too fast and I doubt anyone could be here to get tbeir child . We would just follow me emergency plan .
Now for a hurricane that is planned to hit our area I would close . There is no reason for parents to bring their child , I woild not want to be responsible for the safety of the children if I did not have to be .
None of my dcf have jobs where they are needed for emergencies .

In my handbook I state that I close for all state of emergencies in my area.

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A storm shelter or any work on this house is not exactly in the budget, atm

I get what you're saying... I'm just being a worrier. If there was a tornado coming for us I would probably do whatever instinct told me to do ... and that would probably be to climb down in the basement. Fight or flight would take over (to save myself) and the first place I'd want to be is the basement.

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I hear ya on the budget. I have the same problem

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I agree with a pp, I'd be more worried about having parents get in their cars and then sending them right back out with dck in a tornado warning!

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I wouldn't send a kid home during a tornado warning. I have a spot under my basement stairs that is our shelter area. It's stocked with a few toys, some bottled water, diapers/wipes, baby gates and blankets. During a warning, everyone goes under the stairs, and I block the kids in with gates.

I let parents know that I may be unreachable during storms because I am busy with the kids and the phone service (landline and cell) often goes out, but that we WILL be in the safest place. Parents are welcome to come to my home during the storm, but I ask that they not remove children from my home until the danger has passed. I have not had a parent show up during a warning ever, but I have had them show up right after the warning has lifted to pick up. I'm sure that it is pure hell for them to be away from their kids during such an event.

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I'm just wording this wrong. I don't mean that I'd require them to pick up in a tornado warning. Just when we know something severe is coming our way. Not when a tornado or funnel has been spotted. A tornado watch, maybe?

Nah, you guys have made me see the light We'll just stick it out under the stairs. My house has survived 94 years; it must be pretty sturdy

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I see what you mean now - It does seem like it might get excessive since so many 'watches' never turn into warnings, yk? But maybe a reminder to parents that the safest place for kids is with their own families in severe weather and text alerts to parents when there is something brewing? I know not everyone is even aware sometimes.

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That's a good idea! None of my families have ever asked what we do in severe weather and I've never thought to tell them. If a tornado were to go through here they don't even know where to look to find us.

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I kept all of my old non-compliant crib mattresses to use as cover during a bad storm. The kids love it when we have a drill and I cover them up which I figure helps prepare them in case of the real thing.

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