Few experiences can be as frightening for children as the crescendo of a severe storm: the rattling windows, pelting rain, shattering thunder, otherworldly lightning. As dramatic and beautiful as they are, such storms can indeed be dangerous: About 100 people are killed in the US each year by lightning alone, the National Weather Service reports. Talking about and practicing weather safety with children are crucial steps to protecting them.
Basic Education
As with any potential threat, the best preventative measure is education. Kids are exposed to basic meteorology in school, but bolster this introduction with books, websites, TV programs, films and whatever else you deem appropriate. Actively teach your child about the menace of tornadoes: Discuss the best places to seek cover, most importantly, whether at home, at a friend's house, at school or on the road somewhere. The most robust education might include a primer on severe-weather dynamics: the formation of a thunderstorm, for example, highlighting for the child that such events are more likely during the summer, during excessive heat and with the jumbling-up of cumulus clouds to form cumulonimbus clouds. A kid familiar with even the barest of storm basics may fear severe weather less and act more rationally in the face of it.
Alerts
Spring-boarding off such education, expose the child to the concept of severe-weather alerts. When a television or radio program is interrupted by a National Weather Service message about powerful thunderstorms or tornadoes, explain the difference between a "watch" and a "warning" and act accordingly. Through such indoctrination, kids are more aware of how to respond even if adults are not around --- say, during a sleep-over or a babysitting stint.
Drills
Many schools incorporate severe-weather drills into their curriculum, so kids gain some practice in safety rituals in the event of a thunderstorm, tornado, hurricane or other such atmospheric drama. Do the same at home: Run through the route to the basement, identify secure spots within the house (i.e., away from windows) and talk about 911 procedure. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration encourages families to develop disaster plans so every member of the household knows what to do if a major storm hits the home.
Outdoor Safety
Make particular effort to emphasize severe-weather safety in the outdoors. After all, being caught in a thunderstorm outside versus in a house are two quite different situations. Stress the dangers of lightning, which might not be apparent to a child, introducing them to simple concepts like the counting method for gauging a thunderstorm's approach: With sound traveling roughly 1,000 feet per second, you can count the seconds between a lighting bolt and the resultant thunder to estimate the storm's distance.
Resources
Many resources exist for severe-weather safety education. The National Weather Service, for example, has a wealth of information on its website, including tips specifically geared toward kids. So do meteorological organizations and companies like the Weather Channel. In addition to gleaning information for yourself, show your children the websites and allow them to navigate the kid-focused sections of them; they may then become accustomed to checking forecasts and weather warning for themselves.
Member Comments