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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Just Wondering
Silly Songs 09:19 PM 06-07-2014
I have been reading many of the threads on here, and I understand where most of you are coming from regarding your pick up times and policies.
One issue I am curious about, however, is how to most of you handle community type emergencies . I am thinking along the lines of tornado, mass accident on major highway, large explosion nearby, or a 9/11 type scenario. What if there were total confusion and chaos, how would you keep all the children calm while waiting for instructions on what to do next, and worrying about your own family members ? Many times phone lines and power do not work, it is hard to contact parents, or for them to contact you, plus your own family isn't home, and you cannot contact them either. I realize you have plans for evacuating, but how to you handle the emotional side, especially while caring for young children who are also confused and scared . What are your back up plans for this type of problem ?
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NoMoreJuice! 09:46 PM 06-07-2014
The problem with all the scenarios you described is that we have no way of knowing how we'll react until put into a situation like that. I would have very little problem handling anything as long as I know all my daycare kids are safe. I would try to contact the daycare families, but I know that they all trust me to keep their children safe and they know I will do everything in my power to protect the kids.

It is almost literally impossible to write a plan that details the actions you will take due to all the unknowns, so just trust your instincts.
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LysesKids 03:01 AM 06-08-2014
I grew up as a military brat, so i was always taught to be prepared.

I for one know how I reacted to 9/11… it was my first year of childcare and I lived about an hour from the Pentagn (my brother was working in the building that was hit). I called parents and told them I was going to schools and get all the kids (all were grateful). I then told the kids that TV was going off for the afternoon so we could concentrate on fun games. Parents all picked up before snack was even finished. It was a crazy time because cells phone calls weren't going thru, but if you had a landline they would for the most part ( that is when the lines weren't busy). I pretty much was closed for the rest of the week because things were uncertain.

I have also hidden in bathtubs with babies during tornadoes (in 2 different states where neither home had a basement) while parents had to wait it out at work… we kept in contract by cell phone so they knew their babies were ok.

I have an evac bag packed in case I have to grab and go with the kids… heck, the 2nd day I lived in one home (2011), I was evacuating babies out the back window due to my home being in a flash flood in AR… yep, I was in one of the houses that was surrounded by water that everyone saw on TV. Thankful that my back yard was higher ground than the front yard and that my neighbors & the parents were so quick to help rescue us. Everyone closed for a few days that year because of so much damage and flooded out areas.

I just try and stay cool and collected because so many of the littles I watch can't fend for themselves
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MrsSteinel'sHouse 05:53 AM 06-08-2014
If there was an emergency, I would treat the kids like my own and take care of them! I am prepped, I have a to go bag packed for the kids if we have to go anywhere. My parents trust that I will take care of their kids.
A couple of years ago there was a major accident on the highway between "town" and the village we live in. One of my mom's was stuck in it. It took hours to clear. My husband was still in town when she called me on the cell phone to tell me so I called him to tell him. He picked up pizza and drove over the river and through the woods back roads to get home. By the time mom got here (eventually they turned people around and sent them back and she had to drive around also) we were eating pizza and watching a movie. Dcg didn't want to go home Obviously, late fees never even came into my vocabulary. There was nothing this mom could do.

I guess the best advice is to be prepped, and prepped for the kids (ie emergency water, food, diapers etc) and be confident that your instincts and training will kick in.
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Play Care 06:27 AM 06-08-2014
Originally Posted by MrsSteinel'sHouse:
If there was an emergency, I would treat the kids like my own and take care of them! I am prepped, I have a to go bag packed for the kids if we have to go anywhere. My parents trust that I will take care of their kids.
A couple of years ago there was a major accident on the highway between "town" and the village we live in. One of my mom's was stuck in it. It took hours to clear. My husband was still in town when she called me on the cell phone to tell me so I called him to tell him. He picked up pizza and drove over the river and through the woods back roads to get home. By the time mom got here (eventually they turned people around and sent them back and she had to drive around also) we were eating pizza and watching a movie. Dcg didn't want to go home Obviously, late fees never even came into my vocabulary. There was nothing this mom could do.

I guess the best advice is to be prepped, and prepped for the kids (ie emergency water, food, diapers etc) and be confident that your instincts and training will kick in.


In a "true" emergency I would step up to the plate.

Fortunately there are rarely *true* emergencies
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SignMeUp 07:09 AM 06-08-2014
Agree with above posters. I have shelter-in-place items stored where we shelter in case of storms. And I have two to-go backpacks packed with things we could use if we had to evacuate.

A couple of years ago, some providers had to evacuate due to a gas explosion. It is always interesting to see what type of situation you "might" encounter -- they had to evacuate on foot. No vehicles allowed. That took some providers by surprise, because they were prepared to evacuate, but only by vehicle.

There are many different situations that could take place. I think you have to plan for what you can plan for, and use your brain for the rest.

I always have all of my parent contact information posted by every door so that I can grab in case of fire/carbon monoxide/etc. And also have that in my shelter-in-place kit and my to-go backpacks.
I think there was a thread here fairly recently about what people keep in their emergency provisions.

The hardest part for me is remembering to keep shifting out the old supplies and putting in new -- food items, batteries, etc.

So here's something that I think about: If you don't normally transport children, don't have enough car seats or seat belts, but there were a community-wide evacuation by vehicle -- what would you do?
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nothingwithoutjoy 09:43 AM 06-08-2014
We've only had one big emergency like that--a tornado. I took the kids to the basement, along with my laptop and phone. I called everyone and told them not to come until it was safe, that we were safe. No late fee, because I didn't want anyone leaving. One crazy parent picked up in the middle of it, and one parent had changed phone numbers without telling me (argh!!) so I couldn't reach her, which was stressful. But I was able to keep the kids calm with books and toys and my own calm demeanor.
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playground1 09:56 AM 06-08-2014
Originally Posted by SignMeUp:
So here's something that I think about: If you don't normally transport children, don't have enough car seats or seat belts, but there were a community-wide evacuation by vehicle -- what would you do?
Put them in the car with seatbelts and get the hell out of there.
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Annalee 11:08 AM 06-08-2014
Providers, this year, here had to develop an emergency preparedness plan for all possible disasters and then have them approved by licensing......then give clients a copy and keep copy signed for child records. After spending countless hours on this issue, I sent licensing supervisor an email stating that these emergency plans look REAL GOOD on paper, BUT the bottom line is providers will do the best we can under all circumstances and providers will still be under scrutiny by certain clients if something goes wrong...biggest issue being TRANSPORTATION. The majority here are not licensed to transport.....bottom line, I pray an emergency doesn't come up and if it does, I pray all remain safe. My question to licensing is "who will stand behind us"......different departments in state licensing are good at telling us what to do but bad at getting involved when something goes wrong.
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racemom 11:56 AM 06-08-2014
I think the majority of us have good instinct when it comes to the kids. Even if you prepare for disasters, which we do have plans, we will all do what we think is best for the kids. I know I would do whatever it takes to keep them safe, regardless of what licensing says is right. They can reprimand me, take away our license whatever they find necessary as long as I kept the kids as safe as possible I will know I did the right thing.
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SillyGrl 12:33 PM 06-08-2014
I have thought about it. I've never had to evacuate with other people's kids, but have had to evacuate my home twice, once with an infant and a 1 1/2 yr old. One was for an ice storm that was bringing the trees and electric lines down, and we were barely able to get out in our vehicle (couldn't get back in for 10 days). The second was after a very bad wind storm that left my town looking like a tornado had hit it, and we had to evacuate on foot because the streets were clogged with not just downed branches, but actual trees. It took my neighbors an hour to just get out of their house!

I have a couple of backpacks with my daughter's baby carrier ready in case I need to get everyone out. My three boys are older and so are big enough to help. If I need to go by foot, I can carry two babies with the carrier and a sling and the boys can carry backpacks.

If I can get out by vehicle and don't have carseats, well. I'd load everyone up and get the hell out of Dodge. I know it's not ideal, but sometimes you gotta go NOW.

Right now in my area, there are tornadoes, and we're so dry in this horrid drought that grass fires start very easy, spread rapidly and sometimes there's not a lot of warning. A town near me just lost over 100 homes due to a fire that started on Mother's Day. That's what got me really serious about planning
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Childminder 02:31 PM 06-08-2014
I had a 6" gas main hit by a construction crew right in front of my home. Dcb8 was standing by the fence in the front yard 20ft away from the incident when it happened. He ran inside screaming that we had to escape and helped me get 6 sleeping toddlers and infants into the back of my pickup. No time for carseats, formula, diapers, shoes, blankies or my purse.

I had my cell phone and called the parents to pickup the children in the parking lot of a drug store 1/2 mile away. No daycare for 2 days and I couldn't even get in my home to get my ID or close the windows. Thank goodness it was summer and not raining and the police and gas crew were camped out close by so I didn't worry about people getting into my house.

That little 8 year old boy was my hero that day. He grabbed a baby and a toddler and ran out my door, He sat in the back of that pick up truck and held everyone as close as he could keeping them as calm as he could. Other than being startled by being woke up they were clueless as to the danger. It was just an adventure to them.
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