by Ray Mickol

Created on: August 14, 2010

Teaching your child how to properly call 911, which is the emergency number in the United States and Canada or 999 which is used in the United Kingdom and various other countries, is a very important skill to teach your children. Young children have successfully learned and implemented this knowledge to help save a life.

The most important thing to teach your child about the emergency number is 911 or 999 is a number to be used for emergencies only. Let them know that if they are playing on the emergency number, they could possibly keep someone who needs help from getting it. Some areas might even send out a police officer or other emergency responder to ascertain whether there is a real emergency. Mom and Dad, you can possibly be fined, so teach your children that the emergency number is not a play area.

Teach your child their address and phone number. Even in enhanced 911 and 999 systems where the phone number and possibly an address come up, the dispatcher will still ask them for this information.  A good idea for frequently visited places by your child, such as grandparents, other relatives homes or even an out of home babysitter is to write the address and land line number on an index card and tape it to the refrigerator at child’s eye level so the child can see it and pass this information to the dispatcher.

 Your child needs to know that the voice on the other end of the phone is the person that will get them help. Tell your child to remain calm and listen to the dispatcher. The dispatcher will ask them a lot of questions. Some 911 and 999 dispatchers are trained as EMDs, or Emergency Medical Dispatcher. They may be able to talk your child through some life saving measures. They may even ask your child to stay on the line with them until emergency responders arrive.

One thing that parents need to keep in mind is when you give your child an old cell phone to play with is don’t give them one with a live battery. Even though the phone is disabled from making calls, the 911or999 function will still work. An old cell phone in the hands of a child who continually calls the emergency number can wreak havoc on a PSAP, Public Safety Answering Point, for hours, maybe even interfering with a true emergency.

Teaching your child the proper use of the emergency number is good citizenship and also empowering for the child. They have a sense that they can help in an emergency. Who knows? The life they help save might even be yours

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