Be Prepared, Not Scared

I'm writing late on Sunday night, when weather conditions here are mercifully a lot calmer than I thought they'd be.  We were lucky not to feel much of Hurricane Irene's wrath, but many of my friends and relatives in other states weren't so lucky, with power outages and property damage and many other inconveniences.

Gearing up for this storm, I felt prepared on most basic levels, but found it difficult to prepare Anna for what potentially could be a scary experience.  Granted, the toddler level of understanding is evolving, but limited, so there was only so much I could say to help her know what to expect without freaking out.

As is typical, after the event for which we were preparing had come and gone (and with surprisingly little fanfare), I found an article about how to get kids (and ourselves) prepared for situations like this one, so that they feel ready, but not frightened.  Elyse Major's article contains common sense advice and also some unique suggestions that I would (will?) definitely use when the next storm is on its way.

The most helpful part, in my view, was the suggestion to have your child prepare a storm readiness kit with you so that it seems more like an "adventure."  That's a great way to educate your child, spend some time together, and get him or her involved in the preparations so a feeling of empowerment, not fear, results. [A personal note:  I think the kids' kit below is cool, but I think it's way more fun to come up with it together than to get it pre-packaged.  Just sayin'.]

Some of Ms. Major's advice also involved fun activities for kids, presumably in the event that your child feels a little scared or perhaps stir crazy if there's no power and no opportunity for fun outside. My favorite of her suggestions was making up stories to tell each other.  Anna would love that!

It occurred to me, also after we stocked up on basic supplies, that I hadn't really thought about how to entertain Anna in the long-term if it became necessary. Toddler boredom never leads to good things. What would we do when reading books and listening to music and coloring got old?


One possible idea I had was to cut out magazine photos and make a collage, which we've done before.  We also played with Play-Doh - I fashioned a decent crab and a turtle today while waiting for Irene's arrival, but the turtle met its demise pretty much right after I made it when Anna squished it!

Here's my Play-Doh crab!  You can tell.... right?

Some friends also had great suggestions - dancing and singing, playing with flashlights, etc. I'm confident I would've been able to keep Anna entertained for a good amount of time if we hadn't had movies or You Tube animal videos to fall back on, but I did learn a lesson - have everything ready next time!

In any event, I'd love it if you would check out the article and tell me what you think in the comments, or, better yet, add your own suggestions for preparedness and/or fun toddler amusements when the power is out!