For Parents

There are several things that you as a parent can do to assist the school in assuring the safety of your children. These things should be determined ahead of time and discussed with all members of the family.

• Preparedness Begins at Home
• Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies
• What To Do During an Emergency
• Activities to Calm Children
• Important Public Safety Phone Numbers
• Other Preparedness Resources

• Update the school's emergency form listing people to notify in case of emergency. Students will only be released to these people.
• Make certain the person who is responsible for your child has any necessary medication.
• Become knowledgeable in first aid procedures. Keep a first aid kit available.
• Have a flashlight and a battery-powered radio. Mark KSRO AM 1350 on the dial.
• Know the location of electricity, gas and water valves and how/when to turn them off.
• Have your family participate in earthquake drills.
• Keep emergency preparedness kits up-to-date and stocked for at least 72 hours of food and water.
• Have a fire extinguisher. Check it annually.
• Keep emergency phone lists updated. Choose an out-of-state friend or relative who you and your family members can call after an emergency to report your whereabouts and conditions.

Every family should:

• DEVELOP and practice a family disaster plan.
• TEACH your child how to recognize danger signals such as smoke detectors, fire alarms and local community warning systems.
• EXPLAIN how and when to call for help.
• HELP your child memorize important family information: name, address, phone number, and where to meet in case of an emergency.

Tools to help you prepare:

Personal Emergency Preparedness Kits (pdf)

Emergency Drinking Water (pdf)

Lightning Safety Tips (pdf)

Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies - COPE

The mission of COPE is to help residents, families, and neighborhoods become and remain better prepared to respond to and recover from emergency situations

• DO NOT call the school. Instead, turn your radio to KSRO AM 1350 and listen for damage reports. The school phone lines must be kept open for emergency communications.
• DO NOT drive to the school. Parent cars could impede the ability of emergency vehicles to get to school. Your children need to understand the reasons for your not calling or immediately going to the school.
• STAY at home or at work. Once you leave your house or place of work, no one will be able to contact you if you become stranded and/or injured on the way.
• WHEN IT IS SAFE to travel to the school, DO NOT remove any student from campus unless you are listed on the child's Student Release Form. ALWAYS sign students out before removing them from the school.

If an earthquake or other disaster occurs while your child is:

• walking to school, your child should continue to school.
• walking home, your child should continue home.
• in the neighborhood, your child should return home or go to a designated alternate home.
• waiting for a bus, your child should return home or go to a designated alternate home.
• en route to school on bus, the bus driver will continue to school when it is safe to drive.
• en route home on bus, the bus driver will continue home when it is safe to drive.

A first step for parents is to understand the kinds of fear and anxiety a child experiences. Recognize that a child who is afraid is afraid! A child may have distorted information and may make false assumptions about the causes of major events. These distortions can magnify the sense of fear and make the child more likely to have persisting emotional or behavioral problems.

Parental understanding and helpful intervention can reduce the severity of fears and prevent more serious problems from developing. Listen to what your child tells you about his/her fears. Explain as well as you can about the disaster and about the known facts and encourage your child to ask questions or describe what they are feeling.

Immediately following a quake, fire, flood, terrorist attack or other disaster:

• Keep children as quiet as possible.
• Encourage deep breathing exercises.
• Sing familiar songs, such as carols, nursery rhymes, etc.
• Play word guessing games.
• Talk about happy memories that they can recall.
• Make a plan for what they will do over the next 24 hours.
• Whenever possible, give children tasks to perform as part of the response.
• Reassure children that you will keep them safe. Provide extra emotional support.
• Remind them that steps are being taken by state and federal government, the police, firemen, hospitals and others to make things safer.
• Mostly, keep children in their area, quiet, seated, and breathing deeply and regularly.
• Monitor and limit exposure to the media coverage of the events to decrease the traumatic power of explicit images.

Parents should also:

• Create a comfort zone; do what brings you together as a family.
• Make a deliberate effort to avoid inactivity and get back to routine.
• Indicate to the child that you are maintaining control.
• Be understanding but firm, be supportive, and make decisions for the child.
• Maintain discipline which sets boundaries that provide stability.
• As much as possible, STAY TOGETHER.

The following are numbers for disaster and emergency related help and information.

Del Norte County

Lake County

Sonoma County

Reaction of Children to a Disaster
Source: The National Mental Health Information Center.

Helping Young Children Cope With Trauma (pdf)
Source:The American Red Cross.

FEMA For Kids: Get Ready, Get Set...
Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Terrorist Attacks and Children
Source: National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

10 Ways You Can be Disaster Prepared
Source: California Office of Emergency Services.

Community Preparedness in Sonoma County
Source: Sonoma County Department of Health Services.

Guide to Organizing Your Neighborhood (pdf)
Source: California Office of Emergency Services.

Power Outage Safety
Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Family Disaster Plan (pdf)
Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Providing for Your Animals' Needs During Disaster Times
Source: Cyberpet.com.

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