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We can never be certain when the next major disaster will strike, but one thing we can be certain of: disasters do not strike when it’s convenient for us. As a parent, I wish I had the power to make sure there isn’t ever a disaster that disrupts my children’s lives, at least not until they’re old enough to handle themselves. But that’s not how it works. I need to do everything I can to make sure I’ll be able to take care of them if a disaster strikes while they’re still young. That means I’ve had to acquire many extra supplies.
This article is not meant to be a comprehensive list of everything one should do to prepare children for disasters. Rather, it’s just a few ideas and suggestions for parents.
Food
This is pretty obvious, but I want to point out a couple of things. First, if you’re breast feeding your infant, you still need to stock up on plenty of formula. I know some people are against formula and that’s fine, but what if something happens to mom? How are you going to feed your baby? The cheapest option is to get cases of formula at Costco or Sam’s Club. Make sure the formula has DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that is important for brain and eye development. Another option is to make your own baby formula.
Second, if your child is older, make sure you have plenty of variety in your food supplies. I’ve mentioned the dangers of appetite fatigue before, but with children it’s an even greater danger. Just having some snacks and candy isn’t enough. You need no less than seven types of meals—one for each day of the week—and plenty of seasonings so you can vary the flavors of your meals.
Clothes
You might already have a year’s supply of food for your child, but do you have a year’s supply of clothes? Kids grow fast (or so I’m told), so make sure you’re at least a year ahead. I know this can be expensive, but if you check out Goodwill stores and yard sales on a regular basis you’ll come across some great deals. Yes, some of these clothes won’t be all that great looking, but kids always get their clothes dirty, anyway. And the younger ones won’t remember if you dress them up like Waldo. Another thought: Get some belts for your child so he/she can start wearing pants that are still a little too big.
Diapers
This can be a problem because a year’s worth of diapers would take up a lot of space. I suggest you get as much you can reasonably store. Beyond that, you should get some cloth diapers
. I know these are a hassle to clean, but if you have a good source of clean water (such as a well or a nearby stream) and plenty of detergent, they’re definitely worth it. Cloth diapers are expensive, but in the long run you’ll save hundreds of dollars because they’re reusable. You also won’t have to bury trash bags full of dirty diapers every week.
Emergency Kits
I was surprised to find that most survival stores
don’t offer survival kits for children. I finally found one from 1-800-Prepare called My First Emergency Kit (seen on the right). It comes with a port a potty, solar blanket, food, water, diapers, crayons, coloring book, etc. If you’d rather put together a kit yourself, I suggest you check out the link anyway because there’s a great list of what to include.
If you’re an experienced parent, I’d be very grateful for any suggestions you might have. Please post them in the comments section below.
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I have a BA in psychology and child development so I am by no means an expert but I do know more about kids than many people. Parents need to realize that many kids become phobic of new food around age 3. Which is why some baby food companies advocate exposing kids to as many flavors and textures as possible before age 3.
This combined with the fact that young kids are likely to see the new situation as exciting or an adventure if they are reasonable comfortably right now, the family is together and safe and nothing too loud or chaotic is happening in this moment, means that preschool kids may not understand why the rules have suddenly changed about food they don’t like… for example many families including mine have “ 3 bites and no thanks” rule for normal life.
In a disaster if I suddenly expect my kid to eat special survival food even if he doesn’t like it… I will have a huge battle on my hands either that or I may have to tell him enough about what is going on to ruin the adventure image for him. Ergo, even though it takes more space ( slightly and has to be changed out more frequently, I try to stockpile foods that Skylar already eats.
He has his own kid friendly buckets and I let him bring up ideas with me if he gets them about stuff to add. Although some times his ideas won’t work or need to be modified.
He got very annoyed when his dad and I were adamant that cheese pizza would not work for his “ camping buckets”. We have taught him to call it that so when people in public overhear they will hopefully think “ vacation” not “ Preppers”
My ideas: ultra high temperature milk ( bottles that are uht sealed) this preservation method is usually more palatable to picky eaters than powdered milk.
Pasta and sauce
Instant mashed potatoes
Pb&j pb& honey, pb&marshmellow cream
Soup can get picky kids to eat vegetables
Juice boxes and tang
In general with picky eaters think about foods you put in a lunch box for them. These generally do ok without a fridge. If you are bound and determined to get your picky kid eating Mres, I would get them acquainted with them before a disaster
Great read! I have three under three and have been concerned for them when things go down. While they are still young, I plan to make each their own bug out bag in the event we have to move suddenly. Something they can carry themselves and will last them a few days in the event something happens to both of us.
I make “Diaper Cakes” usually as baby shower gifts. I use pampers, individually rolled and stacked in layers to resemble a cake. It is then decorated as a theme, or boy/girl designs. I had a thought of all the prepping I do and with eight kids I already have sixteen grandchildren. I came up with an idea to make a “Prepper Diaper Cake”. I used my three layer design and rolled towels into a bottom layer, leaving an opening in the center. In this area I added water in pouches and formula. The second layer was created by rolling 2 dozen cloth diapers, held together with rubber bands, which can be useful. The top layer was made with colorful baby wash clothes. For exterior decorations I attached 2 sizes of plastic pants, an emergency blanket, small flashlight, pouches of squeezable baby foods, a glow stick, toiletries, etc., you get the idea. I attached these items with clothes pins and instead of using ribbon to tie the layers together I used paracord. The thought there was to be able to wash and hang dry the diapers and things using the paracord as a clothes line. For the “cake topper” decoration I found a child toy cell phone that opened and had a very shiney surface I thought could be used for signaling. I thought it was super creative and the perfect gift for the prepper mom to be.
For kids older than babies: you need things to amuse them quietly. Keep a few board games, marbles, decks of cards, a book about card games so they can learn to play new games with that same deck of cards, etc. around. Busy children are happy children, and I can envision times when they might also need to be quiet children.
I have a two year old and one on the way. Children can be picky eaters and their taste change form one minute to the next. Stock up on formula and start learning how to make your own baby food. I found that a lot of baby food doesn’t have the desired shelf life. Stock up on powdered milk, that can be used as a substitute and offset the use of formula to make it last longer and your child still gets the required nutrition. *Potty train as young as you possibly can!!!*
I have been using freeze dried fruits and veggies from srmarketplace.com to make my own baby food. They do not have added sugar and preservatives. Another great thing is that it only takes a few seconds to make the food and nothing ever spoils. Just take a few tablespoons of say broccoli, chop it up in your blender add a little warm water… done!