Your Guide to Creating or Reinforcing a Solid Family Safety Plan
Safety always comes first, and this rings truest when it comes to your family and home life. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to have a safety plan in place for if and when things go awry. This is especially crucial in this day and age when circumstances beyond our control abound, like the current coronavirus pandemic.
Indeed, as we hunker down at home to ride out proverbial and literal storms, having a family safety plan can be a real godsend. Now is definitely an opportune time to revisit one that you already have, or even create a new one. Playground Professionals offers the following tips.
Stock up on essentials.
No doubt, at the very core of your family safety plan are the essentials you and your family need to survive a prolonged lockdown or shortage. While there’s no need to hoard, knowing that you have everything that you need to stay safe, comfortable, and healthy for the foreseeable future can be a huge comfort.
High on your priorities will inevitably be food, of course. As a rule, building a food stockpile for rainy days will entail stocking up on non-perishables — that is to say, canned and dried food that can be stored for a long period of time, including cereals, powdered milk, dried fruit, and more. Staying healthy must be a priority, too, so it’s also a good idea to throw in fresh items that will keep longer, such as apples and citrus fruits, root crops like potatoes and yams, etc.
Putting together an emergency kit is crucial, as well. At the most fundamental level, this will include first-aid items to treat minor injuries, over-the-counter medications for common ailments, and several weeks’ or months’ worth of prescription and maintenance drugs. Toiletries and sanitation items are also as important — go easy on the TP, though!
Prepare for outages.
Speaking of emergencies, the loss of basic services like electricity and water is always well within the realm of possibility, so it’s always more than wise to prepare for them. A home generator is undoubtedly a great alternative power source on such an occasion, but of course, not everyone will be able to afford it as it can be quite costly. With this in mind, consider portable generators. As a rule, go for one that’s, of course, portable, but is also capable of providing substantial power and has even multiple power options.
Even more important is making sure that you have a sufficient supply of water that’s safe and potable. It’s a good idea, therefore, to also explore portable water filters to ensure that you always have access to water that’s safe for consumption.
Consider worst-case scenarios.
Now, while your home is arguably the safest place your family can be in at any given time, the fact is, circumstances can change in a heartbeat, making it important to have measures in place outside of the home, as well.
For example, you are anticipating a big storm. This means large branches could fall and damage your house or debris could build up in your gutters and lead to roof damage. Among the best ways to prepare, therefore, is by engaging tree removal services in your area. It will cost you as little as $50 to get a pro to prune trees or remove rotten and unstable ones altogether. But do make sure to compare estimates and get recommendations. As an added tip, choose a service that will handle disposal, as well.
Also making sure that the family knows the location of your nearest emergency shelter is necessary as this can be the safest place to gather should your home be compromised. It’s also best to work with your closest family, friends, and even neighbors in the event of an evacuation, especially to ensure the safety of your most vulnerable family members, like kids and seniors.
Get the entire family on board.
Finally, your family safety plan is only as good as how well it’s implemented, which is why your entire family needs to understand all the details. Moreover, make sure to entrust tasks to those who have the capacity to perform them. For younger kids, they must be privy to key emergency numbers and personnel, as well, at the very least.
Preparing your family for emergencies and disasters is crucial. It’s also important that you have a safety plan in place, even in better times. This also ensures that you can handle negative situations in stride. After all, there’s no way to predict the future, so best not to take any chances.