Page 45 - Choosing a Child Care Center

CHOOSING A CHILD CARE CENTER

Consider creating a backpack emergency
card with relevant phone numbers, medical
allergies, and other information that could
be helpful to have during an emergency
situation.
Ask your school to walk you through their
emergency procedures, and make sure they
have a reunification plan in place with the
children.
Update all of your emergency contacts that
are on file with the school. Consider author-
izing a nonparent to pick up your child in
case of an emergency when you are unavaila-
ble to do so.
Have an age-appropriate conversation with
your child about maintaining safety and
situational awareness.
In the instance that children have been exposed
to an emergency situation, it is key for centers to
work with family members to acknowledge their
feelings and reassure them of the health and safety
measures that are in place to keep them safe. When
addressing a child’s fear, anxiety, or questions re-
garding safety and security, some approaches that
you can take are:
• Be careful not to invalidate the child’s feel-
ings by ignoring them or playing down what
they are saying. Listen to them.

33