Things PARENTS Need to Know

There are many things a parent can do to ensure their family’s  safety. Adequately preparing your home and teaching children how to use  9-1-1 properly from an early age may one day save a life. If you are  unsure where to begin, here are a few of the key things you can do and  messages you can relay to youngsters to ensure that your household is  prepared should a call for help ever have to be made:

Having your address easily visible at the end of your driveway  AND on your home itself will ensure that first responders aren’t left  wondering if they are at the right location.
Make sure that you use  numbering and lettering that can be seen during the day or night, and  are visible no matter which direction you are coming from. Many cities  and counties have ordinances that will give you direction on how to post  your address properly, so be sure to check with local authorities for  more information.

Making sure that your neighborhood has all the proper signage not  only helps friends and family find your home, but it can be crucial  during an emergency situation and time is of the essence.

Many people don’t know this, but the law mandates that even old,  deactivated cell phones with no associated service plan must still be  able to call 9-1-1. An old cell phone may seem to be the perfect free  toy, but giving your seemingly useless device to a youngster may lead to  problems. So, if you want to turn that old phone you have laying around  into a plaything, be sure to remove the battery before turning it over  to your inquisitive youngster.
Better yet, consider donating any unwanted retired wireless devices to a charitable program that can safely recycle them.

9-1-1 can be contacted from pretty much every device that can  make phone calls (traditional landline, cell, VoIP), but the callback  and location information that accompanies your call to the 9-1-1 center  can vary drastically among technologies and between regions. It is your  job to be knowledgeable about the devices your family could use to call  9-1-1, as well as the potential limitations that may be associated with  them. Contact your service provider(s) for more information.

Let them know that 9-1-1 is the number to call when they need help or they see someone who needs help right away.

Teach your kids when to call 9-1-1.
It  is important that children learn that there are specific times when  calling 9-1-1 is the right thing to do. Let them know that they should  only call when someone or something is hurt or in danger or if they need  a police officer, a firefighter, or a doctor.

Help your kids memorize information that will be useful to 9-1-1  call takers, such as their name, their parents’ names, their address,  and their phone number. The more comfortable they are, the more quickly  they can provide vital information to the 9-1-1 call taker who can then  dispatch the appropriate responders to the location.

Once is never enough, as they say, and your job isn’t done after  your kids understand the basics. As the years pass, technology will  change and so will your child’s capacity for providing crucial details  to the 9-1-1 call taker.
It is up to you to make sure that they are  knowledgeable about the features and capabilities of the 9-1-1 system  and that they are ready to provide the most detailed and useful  information possible when they call 9-1-1.