How to Prepare Your Child for Hurricane Season

There is nothing half as frightening as watching mother nature unleash her fury. The sound of volatile winds combined with the ripping and tearing moans of protesting objects can make the bravest among us want to duck under the covers. Many will state that there is no greater fear than that of the unknown. Now imagine you're less than four feet tall, and completely dependant upon an adult.

Amidst the preparing, and planning we often assume that children will just 'go with the flow'. So while the non-perishables are restocked, and the hatches are battened down, our youngins sit wide eyed wondering what the adults are up to. By taking simple steps, and making our child feel like their decisions affect the preparations, parents can make the entire situation easier and more comforting for their child.

The most common reason for children to panic is because they feel helpless, and don't understand what is going on. By allowing the child to participate in the groundwork you alleviate that emotion. And its quite simple to do. When purchasing food have the child help with the selection, adding foods that are 'munchkin' recommended. When packing other supplies, tell them what they are for. "Oh these batteries will be here so we can do this with them", and so forth.

One of the most important things you can do is talk your child through the process before it occurs. Let the munchkin know what will happen, and the best way to react to it. Discuss it with them, and answer any questions honestly. It may help to talk about what a hurricane really is. My son thought it was God yelling at him for 'being bad'. By bringing a little science into this knowledge seeking project, both of us learned a little something!

Making a simple version of a hurricane bottle is a wonderful way to explain components of the storm:

1. Fill a bottle with water, and add a few drops of food coloring,

2. Pour in some oil, usually lamp oil or canola oil works best.

3. You can throw in a few small objects to make the 'swirling action' more interesting. (i.e. glitter)

4. Using a hot glue gun, secure the cap to the bottle.