3 tips to keep your children safe during floods
Parents are on high alert as flash floods are on the rise
The Citizen
With floods taking place at such an alarming rate both locally and globally, it is worth discussing how parents should keep their children safe during floods.
The current death toll is sitting on three at the moment, and emergency services are doing their best to ensure that it stays there and with more rain predicted for this week it’s important that your kids know how to deal with flooding.
So what can you do as a parent to ensure that your children don’t fall victim to flooding?
Educate them
Teaching your children what a flood is can go a long way. Parents could either sit and talk them through it or watch some animated short videos on Youtube that explain floods in a manner that children can understand. Children that have no idea what a flood is or how dangerous they are, can easily confuse it with something fun and want to play. The more they know, the safer they will be.
Keep them away from floodwater
Sometimes, even when they know, children can still be tempted to go play in floodwater. So, ensure that you are watching them as closely as possible. Due to the water being dirty, kids would never be able to tell how deep the water is, or how strong the current is. They can either drown or be swept away.
Teach them to follow guidelines
Depending on the severity, children will be given emergency protocols. In this case, advise your child to follow them as diligently as possible. If the school or the mall decides to evacuate, make sure that they are ready to follow those safety precautions.
The key is to open communication channels with your child as much as possible. Chat to them about what is happening and the consequences of engaging inappropriately with the flood or the water.
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