Family Emergency Plan: Conversation Starters and Essential Questions
In an emergency, knowing exactly what to do as a family can make a huge difference. Use the questions and conversation starters below during your next family meeting to create a clear emergency plan that everyone—especially children—understands.
These prompts are helpful for families with young kids, but everyone can find useful tips here!
Start the Conversation:
What do you think an “emergency” means?
Do you know what a “natural disaster” is? Can you give an example?
What does it mean to be “prepared” for an emergency?
Understanding Emergencies:
What kinds of emergencies might happen at home?
What emergencies could affect our neighbourhood or community?
Are there emergencies caused by weather or environmental factors that we might face?
How would we find out if an emergency was happening? Would it be through phones, television, radio, or something else?
Can you think of emergencies where we'd need to stay inside our home to stay safe?
What emergencies might require us to leave our home or town quickly?
What Do We Already Know?
Have you ever heard about an emergency from school, the news, or friends?
Have you practiced staying safe during an emergency at school, like during a fire drill?
Have your friends ever mentioned any kinds of emergencies?
Identifying Trusted Helpers:
Who in our community would alert us about danger (like police, firefighters, emergency services)?
Who is someone safe nearby that you can go to if there's an emergency at home?
Who could you ask for help if you were at school?
Who could you ask for help if you were at a friend's house?
Would you feel comfortable asking our neighbours for help if your parents weren't home?
If a babysitter was at home with you, could you show them where our emergency contact list is?
If your parent got hurt, who could you call to help right away?
Important Family Information:
Do you know our home address?
Do you know our home phone number or your parents' cell phone numbers?
Do you have these numbers written down somewhere?
Can you say your parents' full names, not just "Mom" and "Dad"?
Do you have any allergies to foods or medicine that you can remember?
Do you know exactly where we keep emergency supplies in the house?
Calling for Help:
What kinds of emergencies should we call 911 for, and which ones could we handle ourselves?
If you called 911, what information do you think would be important to tell them right away?
Understanding Evacuations:
What does "evacuate" mean?
If we had to leave home quickly, how would we go? Would we walk, drive, or take public transport?
Create a Family Checklist:
What things would you want to bring with you if we had to leave our home suddenly?
Do you remember what's in our emergency kit already?
What should we pack to stay warm if the weather is cold?
What should we pack to stay cool if it’s hot outside?
Should we remind other family members to pack similar bags?
What should we pack for our pets?
Where should we store our emergency bags so we can grab them quickly?
Closing the Conversation:
Do you have any questions or worries about emergencies that we haven't talked about yet?
(If you don’t have the answer right away): "That's a really good question! I'm not sure, but let's look it up together so we both know."
Having this conversation now helps everyone feel calmer and safer in the event of an emergency.
