Teaching Your Child How to Use 911
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Teaching your child how to use 911 in an emergency could be one of the simplest - and most important - lessons you'll ever share. Dr. Ken Davis gives parents the 4-1-1 on teaching children to dial 9-1-1 in today’s Sixty Second Housecall. 

Everyone needs to know about calling 911 in an emergency. But children in particular need specifics about what an emergency is. Asking your child, "What would you do if we had a fire in our house?" or "What would you do if you saw someone trying to break in?" gives you a chance to discuss what constitutes an emergency and what should be done if one occurs.

For younger children, it might also help to talk about who the emergency workers are in your community - police officers, firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses and so on - and what kinds of things they do to help people who are in trouble.

Learning what is an emergency goes hand in hand with learning what isn't. A fire, an intruder in the home, an unconscious family member - these are all things that would require a call to 911. A skinned knee, a stolen bicycle or a lost pet wouldn't. Still, teach your child that if she's ever in doubt and there's no adult around to ask to always make the call. It's much better to be safe than sorry.

For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.