My Preschooler and 911

I worry a lot. In fact, if I was a character in a book, I might be Wemberly from Kevin Henkes' Wemberly Worried. I was actually getting better...

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and then I became a mother. It's like worrying is my full time job and everything else is overtime! 

So when I read the story a few weeks ago about the child saving her parent's life by calling 911, I knew it was time. 

I sat T down on the couch and we had a conversation about emergencies. He knew some, as we have talked before about what we will do if there is an emergency at home or somewhere else. We have plans in place for everything!

We have not talked about 911 though. I asked him if he had heard of it and he said no. I told him that 911 is the phone number for the police. That sparked many questions and I answered all of them. We talked about why someone would call and how the whole thing works. 

Then I handed him my phone and told him to show me how to call someone. He swiped his finger across my iPhone and pushed the phone icon. (I didn't know he knew that!) I then showed him how to push the 9, 1, and 1. I pointed out the green button and told him that would be the button to push next. I cleared it out and then did the whole thing a few more times. 

When N came home, we did the same thing with his phone. We showed him on the house phone, too. (Yes, we still have one of those.)

I'll randomly ask him the number for emergencies just to make sure he remembers. I hope and pray he never needs to dial it, but at least him knowing the number is one less thing I'll have to worry about!

What safety tips do you share with your child, and at what age?