It happened when Little Mister was only just a week old. We were camped out downstairs on the couch because he still needed to be on the light table for jaundice. I had fallen asleep, new mom exhaustion. All of a sudden, my husband was shaking me awake and telling me we needed to get into the closet under the stairs. Now.
There was a reported tornado making its way up the highway by our home. I’d seen funnel clouds around the area, but never experienced a tornado aimed for our home. Needless to say, with a week old newborn, I was terrified. I was not prepared. I had no idea what to do or expect.
Fortunately, I diverted to the east before it got close to our home. Unfortunately, several people lost their lives and even more their homes. That experience put a fire in me to ensure that we are always prepared for storms.
If you live in an area that experiences storms, especially the kinds with severe weather, it is always good to be prepared. You never know when the unexpected may hit. And though weather warning systems try to give plenty of warning, the unexpected can always happen.
Find a safe room.
Step number one of storm safety with kids is to find a safe room. The basic specifics of this are an interior room (meaning no walls are shared with the outside) with no windows. This could be a bathroom, a closet, basement or other interior room. If you have a second story, this may be the closet under the stairs. For us in our current house, we only have one room that is an interior room and that is the kids’ bathroom. If you live outside of Texas where you aren’t battling the Texas clay, you may have a basement. Basements are the number 1 safest place.
A bathroom can also be good for loading the kids into the bathtub with all the pillows. Added bonus, many times there are already toys in the bathroom, so plenty of things to keep little ones distracted.
Have bike helmets handy for the kids.
Bike helmets are perfect for protecting little ones’ heads. Many times they may already have a helmet you can easily grab and take with you into the bathroom. We don’t immediately put the helmet on our kiddo because he will just try to take it off. If your child will keep it on, through fun game or otherwise, the longer they can keep it on for, the safer they will be.
Bike helmets will protect their noggins of any falling debris in the room or otherwise. If you have your own helmets, even better! There have been reports of children being tossed by the winds from a tornado but surviving with minor injuries because they were wearing a helmet.
Baby carriers and car seats for babies.
There is a train of thought that babies should be strapped into car seats in the event of severe weather. There is no doubt that this would be beneficial at least. With this being said, they need to be properly strapped in for the car seat to have the proper protection. Keep the handle bar in the up position. This will keep larger debris off baby. There have been reports where babies were found alive because the car seat protected the baby from impact. They are, after all, made to withstand impacts.
I, on the other hand, prefer baby carriers. This keeps baby close to me, I can provide an extra layer of protection, myself, for baby as well as wrap my arms around them. If you choose to go this route, pick a sturdy carrier that you can put on quickly and easily, whatever that may be for you. We like ring slings for this purpose because they are great for quick ups and I can twist the tail to create an extra neck support for baby. Plan to wear baby on your front so that you can wrap your arms around them. The other benefit of wearing baby is a carrier is that you can easily lay down with them with pillows or a mattress covering you.
Pillows. All the pillows.
Grab all the pillows you can find. We grab pillows from the bed, each of the kids’ pillows, and couch cushions. If you have time to grab a mattress, do, but couch cushions can have a similar protection. The more cushion you have between yourself and debris, the better.
Grab a flashlight. And batteries.
With storms comes electricity failure. If this happens, you’ll be happy that you grabbed that flashlight from your kitchen drawer. But don’t just stop there. First, always check on a regular basis that the flashlight is working. Make sure that the batteries haven’t died or corroded in the flashlight. A good plan is to check it at the beginning of storm season twice a year. Then, make sure that you have a baggie of extra batteries with you. So that it’s one less thing for you to have to remember to grab, keep the bag of batteries in your safe room already.
Portable phone charger, charged and ready.
On the track of electricity failure, you’ll want a way to charge your phone. Phone can be handy for several reasons. First, you can use them to check the weather, radar, listen to the radio, and watch local weather stations for updates. Though a wind-up radio is a great idea, it’s no longer a necessity thanks to the amazing capabilities of our phones.
That being said, there are a couple of downfalls with our phones. First off, they lose charge and, short of using a wall chargers, you can quickly become SOL. To solve this problem, make sure you have a portable charger well charged and handy. You can find cheap ones at Target or on Amazon such as this one by Getihu or this one by Poweradd that will do the trick!
Another thing to keep in mind is that phone towers may be clogged with calls or down completely following a storm. This will make it difficult to call anyone for help. If you can, wait a little bit before calling anyone. This will allow those who are injured or need immediate help to get through first. In the meantime, send a text to a family member or friend letting them know your status and location.
Snacks and treats. And bottled water.
Keep a couple of fun snacks or treats and bottles of water in your safe room. This will ensure that, should something happen, you have some nourishment. Also, we all know how kids get hungry and start asking for food nonstop. This will ensure that you are prepared and can curb the constant asking.
If you have a pet, make sure you have a bottle of water and a baggie of food for each of them as well. They will get hungry and thirsty just like humans.
Blanket, stuffed animal, comfort.
I like to grab one item per kiddo that will provide comfort. Kids can pick up on our stress levels and it can make them act a little cooky if we aren’t careful. Grabbing something like their favorite stuffed animal or a blanket that they sleep with will provide comfort to them.
With that being said, they will still pick up on your stress levels. The calmer you can be, the more prepared you are, will help with all of this. Making it into a fun game while you are waiting out the storm will help lighten the mood. Games you can play without any pieces or a couple of songs you can sing – my son loves Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes – will help pass the time.
The difference between a warning versus a watch.
It is important to know the difference between a warning and a watch. Whether it’s for a tornado or severe weather, a watch means that conditions are favorable. During a watch, keep up to date on weather conditions, watch local weather channels for further information, and start to mentally prepare for what you might need to do if the watch turns into a warning.
A warning, on the other hands, means that a tornado or severe weather, depending on the warning, has developed or been spotted or the radar indicates some type of lower rotation. If a warning is announced for your area, especially if it’s a tornado warning, head towards your safe room or shelter. Quickly and efficiently ensure that all necessary items are in there. If you are short on time, the best things to grab immediately are helmets, pillows, and carriers.
Diapers and wipes – two things you don’t want to be without.
These two items are completely necessarily when you have babies and toddlers who have not yet been potty-trained, but easily overlooked when you are in a hurry. Because of this, I highly recommend keeping a pack of wipes and a couple of diapers per kiddo in your safe room. It never fails that my kiddo will poop at the most inconvenient time. If you kid is like that, too, you’ll be thankful you had that extra diaper.
Severe weather will not develop every storm season. You may, hopefully, go your entire life without needing any of these preparations. But it’s better to be prepared and never need it rather than wishing you had done more when it’s too late.
Are there any items you would add? What items have you found it useful to have during storms with your kids?