From a world-wide pandemic to a busy hurricane season, preparing your family for a natural disaster is more challenging than ever.

That’s why our experts at Children’s Hospital are here to help guide you through a few steps on how gear up for a potential storm. First and foremost, we encourage everyone to make a game plan and get your kids involved in the process.

One major way to ease worry and anxiety in your children is to let them help prepare your family’s emergency kit. Get your child to pack their favorite snacks, water bottles, and even make a little game out of the prep work.

If you have older children or teenagers, have open dialogue with them about their potential fears or anxieties. Be sure to reassure them that it’s very normal to feel afraid. If you have younger kids, explain what a hurricane may look like. Draw pictures with them of heavy rain or downed trees, so if a storm does come through, they won’t be taken by surprise by their surroundings.

Remember to keep calm and carry on. Your children are paying close attention to how you carry yourself in a crisis, so acknowledge what’s happening in an appropriate manner and explain in detail how you plan to keep the family safe and stay alert.

If your child is battling depression or anxiety, be sure to limit TV, smart phone, and radio broadcasts in the midst of a hurricane or tropical storm. Also, if your child is old enough, go ahead and provide them with emergency contact numbers and have them practice how they would use emergency resources in advance.

Children’s Hospital is here for your family thanks to our new specialty clinic in Baton Rouge. We offer pediatric behavioral and mental health services among many other specialties including cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, and more. For a full list of specialties and additional information about our new, expanded Children’s Hospital Baton Rouge Specialty Center, click here.