Yesterday morning, after dropping the girls at preschool, Grayson and I headed to the Glendale Police Dept. I went in and asked if we could call 911 to practice b/c I felt like that would be the best way for Bailey to really understand what happens. The officer i spoke with said she hasn’t had that request before but that all I had to do was call the regular number ahead of time and let them know what I wanted to do. She also gave me some stickers to put on our phone with the police and fire dept numbers plus 911 in big letters!
So once the girls were home from school and Gray was napping we sat down to talk about it. I started by telling them what 911 is, and Bailey already kind of knew b/c the fire dept had come to her school earlier this fall. Then we talked about WHEN to call 911. I started by listing some instances like a fire in the house, if she couldn’t wake up Mommy or Daddy, if someone was trying to break in, etc. Then I gave them different scenarios like, falling off their bikes, mommy not waking up, fighting with their sister, a fire… and asked them in each case if they should call 911 or ask mommy/daddy for help. Bailey got each one right but Parker wanted to call 911 every time. Three years old is not quite old enough to understand this concept I don’t think! What Bailey didn’t quite get though was that make-believe things aren’t times to call… she gave her own scenarios like when a monster comes in your house shooting a gun made of fire or when a squirrel breaks in and scratches your face to steal your nightgown! I just told her that sure, IF those things happen she can certainly call 911!
Then we practiced our phone number and address… Parker knew neither and although Bailey already had our phone number memorized she had NO idea what our address was. This morning, after going over it a million times yesterday, she had totally forgotten. Just means we need to start talking about it every day!
I also talked about HOW to use our phone. We have a land line, which the police officer said is best b/c immediately they know where the child is calling from and can send help before they even know what’s going on, and she already knew how to use that phone, but I had to teach her how to use the phone on my iPhone. This will be something we need to keep working on too b/c the iPhone isn’t as easy as a basic cell phone.
Overall I think it was a great idea to practice! And to video tape it b/c they LOVE watching themselves so I know they’ll remember this just by watching it a million times! I’d recommend calling your local police station and asking if you can do this too… it really was incredible and she felt SO special after we were done!
Now, if you want to hear some funny preschool logic and see our basic run-through…
13 Comments
What a wonderful mama you are!! I loved the video! I love that this was a top priority for you!
Such a great idea.
Jodie, Your girls are the cutest little things ever!!! Soooo sweet & cute & funny! This is a great reminder for us parents! Awesome job!
Ya know, nightgown stealing squirrels are on a rampage, I’m glad someone finally had the guts to stand up and say something. Haha!! Super cute though, adorable.
Jodie, where did you find these girls!? They are absoloutley adorable. Can I steal them from you? Pleaseeee?
So funny!
i love this SO SO SO much! so smart to try this out with your kids…and p.s. your daughters are ADORABLE!
Good job teaching! It’s never too young to start this kind of important stuff with your kiddos.
One more tip… everyone should have a wired phone in their house too. Not just cordless phones, but one with a cord plugged into the phone jack somewhere as what if there is an actual emergency and your child needs to call 911 and cannot find the phone! They should always know where they can find a phone and the best thing to do is to have at least one that always stays in the same place. As antiquated as it seems to have a corded phone, we keep one in the kitchen for thsi very reason.
too cute! I LOVE the plug for Paw-paw!
He IS a fixer man!
Such a cute video! Jodie that was a really good idea, and Bailey is such a smart little girl. You should be very proud of her! I love the paw paw plug too
paw paws ARE good fixers haha! I’m definitely locking my doors tonight….no squirrels are getting in this place!
Too funny! Thanks for sharing! I love the part about squirrels.
That was great! Entertaining and educational. Something I should try to do with my son!
What a great idea and video… your girls crack me up. And no I’ve got to go secure all my nightgowns. I’ll never look at a suspicious-ish squirrel the same way again.
Let’s do this with our kids this year and then follow up with 52 smiles to the fire house!?! Love how much the girls have grown in the past year
My friend made up a simple song/tune to teach her littles their address when they were about 2/3. It includes their name and their entire address (including state and country). They’d sing it in the car or table or whatever. 15 years later, I can still sing the song after hearing it so many times