5 Important Tornado Preparedness Tips To Share With Grandchildren

Tornado Preparedness Tips for Grandchildren

I got an email from our local Chamber of Commerce (which does a great job, by the way) and the message heading was Tornado Safe Rooms. Where we live in southern Kentucky, we have had some devastating storms in the past. When I was in second grade a tornado warning closed our school and traumatized me for life. But back to the email, the Chamber was reminding people of where storm shelters are located across our county. I didn’t realize there were 14 shelters in our small county, but that’s a good thing! Especially since this is March and we are under a severe weather warning as I write this post. Knowing where to go when storms (big or small) come is vital to a person’s safety.

Ideally, children would be with an adult when a tornado might occur but that’s not always the case. Plus, if we talk to them about tornadoes (or hurricanes, depending on where you live) before they happen it can decrease their anxiety and help them know what to do. How I wish my parents had done that before my scary episode in second grade! For young children you can print out this file that is shared by the government and go over it with them.

The Red Cross and Tornado Preparedness Tips

• Their website (linked above) says in part……
• 1. Talk about tornadoes with your family so that everyone knows where to go if a tornado warning is issued. Discussing ahead of time helps reduce fear, especially for younger children.
• 2. Check at your workplace and your children’s schools and day care centers to learn about their tornado emergency plans. Every building has different safe places.
• 3. Ensure that every member of your family carries a Safe and Well wallet card.
• 4. Make sure you have access to NOAA radio broadcasts, either through streaming an online NOAA radio station, downloading a NOAA radio app in the Apple Store or Google Play, or purchasing a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA radio.
• 5. Check emergency kit and replenish any items missing or in short supply. especially medications or other medical supplies. Keep it near by and ready!

Knowing where to go when the storms of life hit us is just as important.

Life Preparedness Tips

Our grandchildren need Life Preparedness lessons, too, and while that’s the parent’s job, we can help. My maternal grandmother taught me so many valuable character traits by the life that she lived. We teach best by example and grandparents can be extraordinary teachers!

Even if for some reason grandparents aren’t able to be with their grandchildren there are still lots of ways to stay connected to them and it’s vital you stay connected!

Building A Safe House

The email I received from the Chamber of Commerce stated specific locations where residents of this county can go to find safety from a tornado. Grandchildren need to know the best places to find safety when they face problems. Concerned, caring grandparents want to be one of those places of refuge. It’s important to remind our grandchildren of that as they grow and mature.

I want my grandchildren to be safe and I know you want yours to as well. Faith tells me that the safest house is built on rock, not sand. Matthew 27:24-27  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Let’s make sure our grandchildren know about spiritual safety, too. Talk to them about building their spiritual home on the rock, where they can be safe forever.