2 Emergency Procedures Your Child Should Know

Most kids are smarter than they look even at a tender age. They can take simple instructions, detect and respond positively to emergency situations.

You need to teach them the right emergency steps to take.

They should know when and how to respond if someone is in danger or when they find themselves in trouble.

Here are some emergency procedures your child should know.

Calling 911

Kids learn faster and have a good memory. If you teach them to make 911 calls during an emergency with practical demonstrations, they might save someone’s life or yours when the need arises.

Tips:

Don’t just talk without demonstration. Teach your kids of 4 years everything to need to know about making 911 calls such as;

What nine-one-one (911) means.

Make your child understand that 911 is the most important number to call in an emergency situation especially when an adult isn’t around. Also, explain to him or her that calling 911 without any cogent reason is punishable by the law.

Why should you call 911?

Explain to your child that calling 911 can save their life or that of the person in danger. Use different illustrations to show an example. You could pretend as if you are in danger and ask them to initiate such calls with a toy phone. Then, an adult can come in and pretend to rescue you after the child has provided all necessary information.

When is the right time to call 911?

Make your child understand that he or she can only call 911 when an adult isn’t around to help or when the neighbours are not around. An adult can also ask him or her to do so.

What happens when you call 911?

Explain to your child that when he or she calls the number, an emergency operator will send help to the scene to rescue the person in danger.

What to be their response when someone picks the call?

Teach your child how to respond by providing the location of the incident (house address) name, the condition of the person, and other vital information. Tell them never to end the call unless the operator asks them to.

Under what situation should they call 911?

Tell your child to use 911 under any of the following conditions; if daddy or mommy requests them to; if they discover that someone passes out. They should first attempt to wake the person up before making the call.

You need practical demonstrations to help your kids to understand better. Use a toy phone, not a real one. And explain to them that the real phone is only meant for real-life situations. Create a scene of someone in danger, and ask them to respond if as they are the only one around. Repeat this from time to time.

Additional tips for parents

  • Don’t make the mistake of referring to the number as nine-eleven. Your child may not be able to dial the number correctly in an emergency situation. Refer to it as nine-one-one.
  • Be sure that your child knows the house number and floor you are living. If there is a popular place around that can help the police to locate your house, always remind the child of it.
  • Your house number bold and clear, so that the police can easily locate it.
  • If you have elderly parents or people living with conditions like heart disease, diabetes or epilepsy, remind the child of what to do in an emergency situation and how to spot one.

Water safety skills

Teaching your child water skills is important, especially if you have a pool in your backyard. A child that is already of school age can learn how to save someone that is drowning without putting his or herself in danger.

Tips:

To demonstrate this practically, make sure you are a good swimmer. If you have a pool in your backyard, you can act like you are drowning and instruct your child on what to do.

The child’s response should be one among the following;

  • Get a flotation device and toss it into the pool close to the person.
  • Reach out to the person with a towel or kickboard
  • Know how to open a person’s airway

Warning tips:

  • Remind them of the dangers of jumping into the pool or river in such condition when they can’t swim.
  • Tell them to call for help immediately. Adults who are around can help.

Conclusion

Two things happen when you teach your child the right emergency steps. They can save someone’s life or theirs. Ensure you always use practical tips to help your child to understand better. Demonstrate the situation and watch them respond. Children are fast learners. And they learn better when they are taught verbally and practically. So, follow the tips above to train your child on how to respond to emergency situations, and you will be glad you did.

 

Camping Hacks, Tips, and Tricks

Camping is an awesome outdoor activities and it has its own unmatched fun and excitement.

Like every other thing, camping can be made more efficient, fun and frolicsome with some really valuable Camping hacks, tips, and tricks.

Here are 7 camping tips.

  • Test Your Gear- The gear you bought last year or probably a couple of months back and would be using them for the first time or a subsequent usage is on its way this camping trip. Whatever the case may be, test all your gear before you set up your camping sail. Fixing malfunctioning equipment can prevent a ruined trip.
  • Know Your Campsite- Although it is quite obvious that you would get all the information about your campsite beforehand still, common sense is not so common. Don’t assume.  Its helpful to know as much as possible about your campsite like- if it has showers, toilets, drinking water etc. This would help you with making your checklist for the trip; what to pack and what would not be required.
  • Researching Remote Campsite- If you are more than average adventurous and do not intend to set your tent at any of those regular campsites which give a mushy feel-at-home you need to do some extra research. The remote campsites which are far away from civilization need a thorough research on the potential dangers they may have like- animals, insects, accident-prone spots etc. This shall help you in setting your first-aid.
  • Contingency for Weather- Although the prep for a camping trip heavily depends on the season you are planning to set out, still preparing for a slight weather detour would not be too heavy to carry. Generally, it doesn’t happen at the peak of a season that the weather would take digression from its normal course, but if you camping on the end of season days, you would not like to take any kind of risk.
  • Essentials- There are a couple of essentials you should carry no matter wherever you go camping and they are- a rope preferably nylon and a duct tape. A rope is one thing you would discover has multiple uses with an amazing degree of improvisations too. A duct tape would mend things that get torn on a camping trip—a tent is one such thing in case you are wondering. Another superbly essential thing to carry on a camping trip is a Swiss knife. Buy one and you would know why. Last but not the least, do not forget to get good quality camping sleeping bags.
  • Be Known- This probably is not something that would help you on a camping trip but something that would help you in taking an action in emergencies while you are on a camping trip. Tell your neighbors and a couple of friends that you are set on a camping trip and by when you would be back. In case of any kind of uninhabited home, emergencies ask them to contact you. Make sure you are available at least on a couple of mediums- Phone, text, social media messenger, mail etc.
  • Carry Light- Camping is about living close to nature, away from all those deafening sounds, noises, and unnecessary illumination. That is true, but going too far with the urge of living in nature’s lap could get you in trouble. You need a good amount of light, especially at remote locations after the dark falls. Carry a good amount of lighting equipment like- 5 to 6 flashlights (keep a couple of them in spare), a couple of headlamps, LED lanterns etc

Improvisation is something you would love to do on a camping trip. At home, we do not need work around ideas cause for everything we have a device or an equipment. You would be more excited to plan a camping trip after you see what all you can do with seemingly trivial and wasteful things on a camping trip.

Here are 7 awesome camping tricks and hacks.

  1. Dairy jug lamp- You have a lot of lighting equipment with you that would just lighten up the place like anything. Well, how about an ambient light that spreads across the place evenly and not blotting out the view. All you need to do is strap that headlamp around a milk/dairy jar with reflector facing the wall of the jar. Turn on the light and there you get your homely night lamp!
  2. Tick repellent- Whatever you do, there are some enduring insects like ticks that are never going to give up on sucking you. Instead of spending on a tick deterrent, you simply make a more effective solution at your home. Put one part of tea tree oil and mix it with two parts of water. Now spray this solution onto trousers, shirts, socks, shoes and other clothes. The ticks would off the whole camping trip.
  3. Waterproof matchbox- instead of carrying the usual cardboard matchboxes, which are always prone to get wet, you could make your own waterproof matchbox. Paste a sandpaper on the lid of a similar-sized plastic box and cover the lid. Your matches are safe inside, from the water. Although you would have to save the sandpaper from water, you can carry some extra sandpaper. Use strike-anywhere matches.
  4. Tic Tac spices- On a camping trip you don’t need to carry along the whole home and that is why you waste a lot of money and time on buying storage items which are small and handy. Well, nothing could beat the seemingly waste Tic Tac boxes that can store a lot of spices which would last the whole camping trip.
  5. Soap leaves- Camping teaches us utilizing the resources in the best possible way. One such way is using soap leaves instead of the whole soap. Peel a soap with a vegetable peeler and you would thin wafer-like layers of soap. These soap leaves could be used by multiple people and are great for one-time use. Soap leaves also give relief from the itchiness caused by mosquito bites.
  6. Improvised tap water dispenser- The empty detergent dispenser could be put to a great use on a camping trip. Save on anything you plan to buy to dispense tap water. Just fill the empty detergent dispenser with water and place it on one side.
  7. Portable washing machine– You don’t want to do the dirty laundry on a camping trip, rather you don’t have anything to do it. Well, there is no hassle to carry a plunger and a paint bucket in case you want a quick wash for your dirty laundry on a camping trip. All you need to do is, cut the rubber cup at the bottom and insert the handle through the hole on the lid of the bucket making it an agitator. Fill it up with water, dump the clothes and add some detergent. Move the plunger clockwise and anti-clockwise to wash the laundry.

About Author:

Danny Smith is CEO and Founder of Australia Wide Annexes and Xtend Outdoors, which manufactures and sell Rv awnings, Rv rooms and outdoor accessories. He just love rving holidays and frequently blog about rv and camping trips, parks and tips.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xtendoutdoorsinc

LinkedIn: http://au.linkedin.com/pub/danny-smith/98/227/75b/

 

 

Managing 12 Volts

Book Review: Managing 12 Volts
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My plan for a large scale disaster is mostly to use as many non-electric items as possible, by using as much 1800’s tech as possible. However, just because the grid is down, doesn’t mean its all little house on the prairie.  Additionally, most of us have generators that could be used for short duration problems like floods or winter storms.

I am a big believer in solar power where applicable.  Even though I know that solar electric power is not the most efficient use of sunlight, it can be effective when managed properly.  To that end I even published a post about solar items like ovens and water heaters.

Managing 12 Volts is a great reference to have on your homestead, or BOL (bug out location).  Especially if you plan on using 12 volt batteries to power things like radios.

This makes even more sense now that the recreational fields have so many consumer electronics build to run on dc.

This is where this book come in, it is designed for small scale systems like RVs and sailboats. It contains many good charts, tips, and best practices when building, maintaining, and repairing 12 volt systems.

Managing 12 Volts is not a design manual, but there are some useful information to help you know what to look for if you are designing your own system.

The Ayoob Files

Book Review: The Ayoob Files
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If you own a gun you need to read The Ayoob Files.

Ayoob describes in detail several lethal force encounters, what happened, why it happened, and what the legal consequences were. This is another book of mine that is dog eared, bookmarked, and highlighted.

I discuss portions of this book in all my defensive firearm classes, because the information is relevant to my students.

Anyone can learn to use a firearm, but learning when to use a firearm, or how to use a firearm when one is being used against you are trickier… This books gives the reader quality ammunition to use to make the “when to” decision…

The information contained within this book can also help you make good decisions so you can survive not only the confrontation, but the legal aftermath.

I cannot remember a firearm class I have taught where I did not mention some bit of information or concepts covered in this book.  This is an older book and the real situations are older, but the concepts are true still.  This is not, and no book it, the only information you need, but I do believe that this book is one that all firearm instructors, permit holders, or owners should read and understand.

Ditch Medicine

Book Review: Ditch Medicine
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Anyone can go online and order sutures, quick clot, and fish antibiotics, and a quick trip to the co-op can net you all sorts of neat medical trinkets. If your willing to spend the money you can buy all sorts of high adventure medical kits, or military medic kits, but knowing how to use them is another thing altogether.  That is where Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies fits in.

Ditch Medicine’s author, Hugh Coffee as been in emergency medicine since 1985 – and has been a swat medic for the last 10 years. He spends a lot of time training medics to deal with trauma in austere situations.

If you are prepping for some catastrophic disaster – either general or specific, and you are storing beans, and bullets, you know you cannot neglect the bandages.

This book gives a great selection of techniques and procedures for dealing with wounds. It is also a lot easier to read, and infinitely better illustrated than such classics as Emergency War Surgery this book needs a spot on your prepper bookshelf, but that spot needs to be worn out by you consistently studying this book. While things like suturing are very clearly shown in this book, I believe I would punch any person that tried to stitch me up with a needle in one hand a book in the other.

Buy this book, study it, practice skills like suturing on oranges to grasp them BEFORE they are needed, and then keep this as a refresher/reference for those times when you do not have the luxury of 911 or a emergency room.