by Brie I am a pretty cautious parent. I always have to walk down the steep staircase first in case my 3.5 year old or nineteen month old slips. I am always checking to make sure the park gates are closed and no kids can escape onto the busy streets. I always check both ways, and then check again, before we cross the street. That's just me. I feel better when I feel like I am being careful, or as I like to jokingly say, paranoid.

One thing I haven't done, and now plan to, is make a family emergency plan. This is right up my alley.

I have been thinking about this because May 2 to 8 is Emergency Preparedness Week. I watched a short video made by Public Safety Canada that discusses what to do in different scenarios to make actual situations less stressful and save time during an emergency. The video had a number of good suggestions. I liked the idea of having copies of important documents and photos of the kids kept somewhere other than the house in case of an evacuation.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFZzuPe6QAc&feature=player_embedded]

Now I just need to sit down and write out the plan. Thankfully there is an easy online tool on the GetPrepared.ca website that will walk you through the things you should include in your plan. The website also provides tips on how to talk to kids about emergencies, how to prepare if you or a family member has special needs and what you should do for your pets.

They also talk about having an emergency kit. Reviewing the list posted online I can see that there are some items that we need to add to the kit we already have in our cupboard. My mother-in-law, who is maybe even more cautious than I am, made up kits for us with emergency supplies of food and water. I need to add copies of important documents, an extra set of keys and a copy of our soon to be created emergency plan.

What about you? Do any of you have family emergency plans? Do you have any tips to share?

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.