Ready for an Emergency?

We have found the following game to be a good way to teach our children what to do in an emergency.

Get Ready—

Divide family members into teams of two, pairing one parent or older child with each younger child. Select team colors; place a colored sticker dot for each team in various places (see below). Prepare a game sheet with different questions for each team.

Get Set—

Gather the family. Assign each member to a team and a color, and give each team a game sheet.

Go!

Each team searches for its own colored dots and places them on the game sheet, then answers the questions. The first team that answers correctly wins a prize.

Dot Placement and Questions

Water: Where is the main turn-off valve to the house? How do you turn it off? Where do you turn off a toilet’s water supply?

Electricity: Where is the main breaker to turn off power to the house? Where are the circuit breakers or fuse box? How do you reset a tripped breaker or replace a blown fuse?

Gas: How do you turn off the supply to the main house? The water heater? The furnace?

Smoke alarms: Where are the smoke alarms? How many do we have? Do they require batteries that need to be changed regularly?

Telephone: Who do we call in an emergency? How can we contact Mom or Dad? When might we appropriately dial 911 (or your country’s emergency number)?

Evacuation: Where should we meet if we have to leave the house during an emergency?

Playing this game has helped all of us learn more about how to take better care of ourselves and our home during a crisis.—Alison Affeltranger, Sego Lily Ward, Sandy Utah Granite South Stake

Illustrated by Joe Flores