Teach Your Kids To Call 999
You may have seen the story about a young girl who sat with her unconscious mother all night before walking to school in her princess dress and wellies to raise the alarm. Fortunately, her mother is now recovering from sepsis, the life-threatening illness which saw her spend nine weeks in hospital.
This story made us think about when is a good time to teach children to call 999. In this blog, we’ll share ideas and resources to help you broach the topic. We’ll also reveal what you should do if your child dials 999 by accident. Hanging up in a panic may be your natural response but is it the right thing to do?
Have children successfully made 999 calls?
Yes! A quick Google search reveals several stories about children who have called 999 for help.
In a video by Operation Ouch, a children’s TV series, Doctors Chris and Xand spoke to a seven-year-old, Hannah, who called 999 to get help for her sister. Although Hannah said she was scared and shaking, she did a brilliant job of explaining what was happening to the call handlers and passing messages from them to her mum.
The call handler described her as “…a lot better than a lot of the adults that we speak to”.
What age should a child be when you teach them to call 999?
Our MD, Tina, comments, “It depends on the child, but small children are often more tech-savvy than we think. If your child can use a complicated remote control or navigate to their favourite app on your phone, try teaching them how to make a 999 call.”
A two-year-old boy once stunned call handlers by calling 999 when his mum collapsed. Paramedics rushed to the house and took his mum to hospital for emergency surgery for a blood clot.
How to teach kids to make a 999 call
Role-playing an emergency may seem a little OTT, but kids learn through play. Teach them how to:
- Spot when someone needs help (e.g. “If you can’t wake up Mummy or Daddy by tickling them…”)
- Make an emergency call on mobiles (and a landline, if you have one)
- Say what’s happened
- Give their age
- Give their address if they are at home
- Follow basic instructions
- Stay on the phone until the ambulance arrives
It’s also a good idea to check that you have ‘ICE’ (in case of emergency) contacts set up in your phone. Both Android and Apple phones let you add a list of emergency contacts. You can also add medical information such as known conditions, allergies and medications.
What to do if your child dials 999 by accident
No parenting manual tells you what to do if you’re on the loo when your child toddles in mid-chat with the emergency services.
When this happened to one of our team years ago, she immediately terminated the call in a panic (to be fair, the call was on speakerphone!). However, she’s told us she now knows better. According to West Yorkshire Police, “…don’t hang up! Speak to the Call Handler and let them know it was just a mistake, they won’t be annoyed or angry, you will be helping them by letting them know officers aren’t needed.”
Then, make yourself a strong cup of tea to get over the shock.
As Tina says, “It’s also important to tell your children what to do if they make an unplanned emergency call. Teach them to say “I didn’t mean to call you”. This is better than telling them to say “I called you by accident” as, if they are panicky, the call handler may think there has been an accident and they are genuinely calling for help.”
Getting kids together to learn first aid
Knowing how to give first aid can help a child stay calm in a crisis. Our ‘Save A Mate’ courses are designed to give children and young people aged 10-18 critical info that’s age appropriate. You can choose the first aid topics you would like included. If you’re interested, please contact us. We also have a brilliant Festival First Aid course for your teenagers going off to festivals or travelling before uni. This covers everything from campfire burns to drug and alcohol poisoning.
