News

April 23, 2021

Let’s Get Ready: Planning Together for Emergencies, Sesame Street

A bilingual (English and Spanish) multiple media resource, Let’s Get Ready and Handling Emergencies are designed to help entire families, especially those with young children, to plan and prepare together for emergencies. Through simple strategies and tips that can be incorporated into everyday routines, these  helps children, families, and caregivers to prepare ahead of time in age-appropriate and engaging ways.

About

Preparing for emergencies is something the whole family and community can do together! Help children remember important information, and create a family emergency kit and plan. These steps will go a long way in keeping children safe and secure.

Let’s Get Ready Toolkit

Handling Emergencies Toolkit

 

 

News

CPR for Infants and Children

CPR can save a child’s life by providing the brain, heart and other organs with life-giving oxygen in the event of respiratory and/or cardiac arrest. Drowning, poisoning, accidents, smoke inhalation and SIDS are only a few of the emergencies that could result in death if not treated quickly.

About

A number of resources and courses are available to help parents and caregivers learn how to administer CPR in the event of an emergency.

 

News

A Guide for Families: Creating An Emergency Kit

Be prepared for an emergency situation.

Emergencies like natural disasters, fires, injuries, and other crisis situations can happen in the blink of an eye, so it is important to be prepared.

When children and their families prepare for an emergency situation together, children learn the basics of staying safe, and it can make emergencies less stressful because they will feel empowered.

Create an Emergency Kit

Take some time to create an emergency kit box with your child — turn it into a treasure hunt or a game to keep your child engaged. As you put items in the box, explain how they would help during an emergency.

Prepare kits for your home, work, and vehicle and review them every six months to a year to replace expired food items or clothing your child has outgrown.

Use this checklist to prepare kits for your family.

Basic Needs

  • Water (one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation).
  • Food (at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food).
  • Can opener for food.
  • Emergency lighting, such as a flashlight, head lamp, or battery-powered lantern.
  • Extra batteries in common sizes and batteries for any other devices such as hearing aids.
  • Car chargers, power banks, and adapters for home use equipment and devices.
  • A battery-powered or hand-crank National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio with USB port(s).
  • Battery-powered or backup smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors.
  • Appliance thermometers for your refrigerator and freezer.
  • A surge protector power strip.
  • Matches in a waterproof container.
  • Warm clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, and emergency blankets to keep you warm in cold temperatures.

Personal Needs

  • Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties (for personal sanitation).
  • Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items.
  • Infant formula, bottles, diapers, wipes, and diaper rash cream.
  • Pet food and extra water for your pet.
  • Cash.
  • Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person.
  • Complete change of clothing appropriate for your climate and sturdy shoes.
  • Books, games, puzzles, or other activities for children.

Medication

  • A list of your prescription medicines. Include information about your diagnosis, dosage, frequency, medical supply needs, and allergies.
  • Medical equipment such as inhalers, hearing aids, glucose meters and test strips, eyeglasses, etc.
  • First aid supplies:
    • Bandages.
    • Antibiotic ointment.
    • Antiseptic wipes.
    • Latex gloves.
    • Oral thermometer.
    • Hand sanitizer.
    • Tweezers and scissors.
  • Nonprescription drugs, like pain and fever relievers, antihistamines, and antidiarrheal medicines.
  • A cooler and chemical ice packs to chill medicines that need to be refrigerated.

Paperwork

  • Copies of insurance cards (home, car, health).
  • Personal identification.
  • Vital records.
  • Photocopied veterinary records and registration information.
  • Personal care plans.

More Information

For more information about preparing for an emergency with your family, visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Ready Campaign website: ready.gov.

Print This Resource

This resource is available as a printable PDF (English) (Spanish).

News

Directory for Emergency and Safety Services

Keep information for emergency and safety services on hand with this printable resource.

Emergency Services

 

Personal/local contacts:

  • Police department
  • Fire department
  • Pediatrician

Battery Ingestion Hotline:

  • Call 202.625.3333.

Pittsburgh Poison Center:

  • Call 1.800.222.1222.
  • Text “poison” to 797979 to add the poison center number as a contact in your mobile phone.

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Emergency Department:

  • Call 412.692.5555.

webPOINSONCONTROL:

The first fully-automated virtual poison center. As an interactive tool, it guides you through a specific poison exposure situation just as poison control centers would do if you called.

Safety Services

Allegheny County Health Department’s Safe and Healthy Homes (SHHP) Program:

Provides free in-home health and safety assessments to qualified participants in Allegheny County as well as Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland counties.

Allegheny Lead Safe Homes Program:

Offers qualifying homeowners and renters in Allegheny County with free lead-paint testing throughout their homes and hires a certified lead abatement contractor to repair any lead hazards found up to $12,000.

Cribs for Kids:

Provides portable cribettes to families who, otherwise, cannot afford a safe place for their babies to sleep.

PA Car Seat Loan Program:

The PA Traffic Injury Prevention Project (PA TIPP) is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and offers a car seat loan program for families in need.

The National Child Identification Program Inkless Fingerprint I.D. Kit:

The ID Kit allows parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian.

Print This Resource

This resource is available as a printable PDF (English) (Spanish).

News

March 26, 2021

Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series: Part V

Safety

About

Though eager to explore the world around them, infants, toddlers, and children lack the skills and knowledge to protect themselves. Parents and caregivers play the most vital role in keeping their children out of harm’s way on a day-to-day basis, as well as equipping them with the safety skills they need to prevent injury and in the event of an emergency. 

Trying Together developed resource content to help guide parents and caregivers in taking steps to eliminate hazards and create safe spaces for children in and out of the home.

Featured Resources

Creating Safe Environments for Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children

Though most unintentional injuries can be prevented, they are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the United States. As a parent or caregiver, it’s important to continuously take steps to eliminate hazards and create safe spaces for children in the home and out of the home. Read this post to learn more about childproofing.

Creating a Safe Sleep Environment for Children

When you implement safe sleep practices, you can help protect your infant and babies from sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and young children from other hazards like suffocation and strangling. Learn how to create a safe sleeping environment to reduce the risk of injuries.

Car Seat Safety

Car crashes are a leading cause of injury or death for children. The best way to keep your child safe every time you get in a vehicle is to ensure that you’re using the right car seat and that you’re using it the correct way.

Safe Interactions Between Pets/Animals and Young Children

We love our pets and animals, but it’s important to take the steps to ensure that they can coexist safely. This post explains how to use proper hygiene around animals, how to teach your child how to interact with animals, and what to do in the event of a bite or attack.

Teaching Young Children About Interacting with Strangers

The generalization of “never talk to strangers” doesn’t fully educate children about how to keep themselves safe. This post offers tips for parents and caregivers  to teach children how to identify and respond to dangerous situations.

Discussing Emergencies with Young Children in a Non-Threatening Way

Children’s abilities to cope with stressful or frightening situations improve when they know more about what is happening and feel that they are able to help protect those closest to them. This post outlines non-threatening ways to approach emergency topics while helping children feel empowered.

Creating an Emergency Kit for Your Family

Emergencies like natural disasters, fires, injuries, and other crisis situations can happen in the blink of an eye. Use this checklist to create an emergency kit together with your children. They will learn the basics of staying safe during an emergency.

 


 

More Information

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