How To Prepare Children For Hurricanes

Living through a hurricane can be a scary experience for any person, regardless of age. These types of emergencies may be particularly frightening for young children, since they might not fully understand what’s going on and can react more intensely than adults would.

One way to ease a child’s fear is to talk about the specific disasters that could affect them ahead of time, and give them the tools they need to be prepared should one occur, according to Annette La Greca, distinguished professor of psychology and pediatrics at the University of Miami.

Start With The Basics

Meteorological terms can be confusing, and it’s important for children to understand some hurricane-related vocabulary words. Take some time to talk about the keywords they may hear in the media. You may want to start by discussing the definition of a hurricane in simple, age-appropriate language and then move into more complex weather words.

In the case of an emergency or disaster, tell children that being prepared for an emergency means having a safety plan with your family. Where you go with your family to be protected during an emergency or disaster is a safe space. For example, it could be a genuine safe room that meets special criteria of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a basement, or a nearby shelter.

Once the basics are covered, you can go into detail about how to stay safe and prepare for natural disasters that are most common in your area.

Staying Safe At Home

If your family chooses to stay home during a hurricane, your kids should know to stay away from windows, avoid electrical plugs and appliances due to power surges, and avoid stepping in floodwaters, as they can be filled with harmful debris.

While at home, keep routines going as best as possible. Children find comfort in rituals and routines, so bedtime stories and family meals can help to keep a daily structure amid changing weather conditions.

Children may have unrealistic fears of hurricanes, so take the time to talk to them about how they are feeling. According to experts at Save The Children, it’s important to watch for changes in your child’s behavior, sleeping patterns or eating habits. If these behaviors seem to be lasting long after the hurricane hits, seek professional counseling.

Understand Your Evacuation Plan

Your family should have a clear evacuation plan far in advance. State Farm suggests that should include a pre-designated meeting place in case family members get separated, a list of emergency contact numbers, a few different evacuation routes that are all easy to remember, and a shelter location that everyone knows.

You can explain this plan to kids by breaking it down to the most important parts for them to remember: the meeting place, and contact names and numbers. Pick a meeting place that’s close enough to your home so kids can walk there, then make the trip together several times. Eventually, encourage them to take the lead so they can imagine doing it on their own. Teach them three emergency contact phone numbers and have them rehearse the numbers several times until they can recall them with no trouble.

Your kids should also know where your family's emergency "go bag" is in case they have to get it themselves.

If you have kids under 5, ask an older sibling or a neighbor to look after them in case you get separated. Ready.gov also has a handy workbook specifically designed for younger kids that will help them understand the most common natural disasters.

Practice all parts of your emergency plan with your family until you feel like everyone knows them without fail. You can never practice too much, even if it starts to annoy your kids — in an actual emergency, their anxiety levels will be much higher, and it’s easy to forget even the simplest things in those moments.

Remind your kids that they can always ask questions about the plan and emergency preparedness in general. They should also know it’s okay to be scared during emergencies and that adults can be there for them for mental and emotional support.

B​ianca Barr is the branded content editor for weather.com. Her professional experiences include radio and television broadcast news, teaching and strategic communications at a popular (and large!) university in Pennsylvania and digital service journalism within the weather vertical.