Kids Call 911 | Blogger For Hire

child-on-phone1 Teaching kids to call 911 could save your life. Kids are more resourceful than many of us realize.

I was amazed at the resourcefulness of the three years old Australian child, who called emergency services when his mother had an epileptic fit.

The child told the operator that his mother was asleep on the floor bleeding. He was at home with his nine-month-old brother.

Police and ambulance officers raced to the house and took the mother to the hospital for treatment. Police said the woman was unconscious and the boy’s actions may have saved her life.

Australian emergency authorities said, “this is a positive reminder to teach children at a very young age what is required in the case of an emergency.”

Children are often more resourceful, and more resilient than we give them credit for. When I talked with my own children (ages six and eight) about a scenario in which I, say, fall down the stairs, lose consciousness and need them to call for help, they started crying.

I felt bad about making them sad, but I knew that such a scenario is completely possible and that they need to be able to call for help. We taught them how to use the phone and made sure they knew to run to the neighbor’s house, or call 911, in case of an emergency.

Of course, an important part of teaching kids to call 911 is emphasizing that they should only ever call when there’s a true emergency.

Photo by pinqu1963