Do You Have a Family Emergency Plan?

Crime is on the rise and unfortunately home invasions have become fairly common in today’s South Africa.  It is not uncommon to hear of attacks on homes both during daylight hours as well as in the night. It has made me think of some very good advice we were given in a self defense class a few years ago and which has stuck with me.  The advice given was – together with your family, every household should formulate some emergency plan; not only for a medical emergency, but for any emergency that you may find yourself in.

For me, I believe…..well, I hope that by having thought things through before they happen, in an emergency, I would have a plan of action already mapped out in my brain, causing me to panic less and think more clearly. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Say you and your partner have both attended a First Aid and CPR course. Discuss who felt the most confident, who believes they will remember the most and who would remain the most calm in this situation. Assign roles in your family.  In our house, if my hubby and I were faced with having to resuscitate someone, it would be me performing the CPR and my hubby who would be tasked with phoning for the ambulance and waiting outside to direct them in. In this way, each person has a clear role and we are not both running around like chickens without their heads.

When the girls were little, I often used to think about what I would do if someone tried to hijack the car with the girls strapped in. Once Jade was old enough to be able to unclip her own straps, I taught her to lean across to undo Chloe’s straps. I spoke to her about it and we agreed that if Mommy asked her to undo Chloe’s straps she would first undo her own and then undo Chloe’s. Of course, if an actual hijacking had occurred, I would have sussed out how it was all happening and decided then, if that was the best course of action. But, by teaching and talking to Jade about it, I felt that I would have had one more alternative course of action than if we hadn’t discussed it. In our house we have thought about various criminal scenarios.  The children know to stay in their bedrooms until they hear from us that it is safe to come out. In this kind of scenario, I am the communicator phoning the various numbers of police, security company and the neighbor, whilst Gavin focuses on keeping us safe. It is so important to discuss these things before hand. I am always amazed with how many people do not know the emergency numbers in their area. 10111 is the one most quoted, but its not the right one to call for everything. Post those numbers close to the phone. Commit them to memory, too – and add them into your cell phones. Make sure you Domestic knows those numbers too, or where to find them in case of an emergency. Find out from your medical aid who their preferred ambulance supplier is.  Some medical aids have their own dedicated ambulances themselves that may just get to you you a few minutes faster and save your life. So, please tonight sit down with your family and have this discussion.  Formulate a plan in your own head for any situation you may find yourself in.  It may just help to keep you calm, keep you thinking clearly and save your life or the life of your loved one. If you would like a list of the emergency numbers in PMB please go to my facebook page and download them under the big green cross. https://www.facebook.com/VitalLifeTraining.