When kids reach the age when they’re accepted in preschools, one of the first things that teachers teach them is their name, address and phone number.
This kind of information is vital for the kids to know so that in cases when they get lost or stray away from their parents at the mall, people who find them know who to notify and thus, be able to reunite the children with their parents.
Another skill that you, as parents, need to teach your kids is the value of dialing 000 for emergency situations. To start with, it’s very easy to remember the emergency number, “000”, so kids who are young, say 5 years old, will still be able to recognize it and remember it. The important thing to instill in them is how to stay calm while the operator attempts to gets the information needed to determine the situation. Usually, when calling from a landline, the operators will automatically know where the call is originating from so it only needs personal information to verify the caller. However, in cases when you’re calling from a mobile phone, it helps that the child has the presence of mind to know where he is, for him to stay calm and to be able to describe exactly what kind of emergency situation the emergency services team will be handling.
There have been cases of kids dialing 000 and saving their parents and relatives. 5-year old Bailey Fuller was able to phone 000 when his mother collapsed in their home. He climbed a chair to reach the phone, dialed 000, stayed calm while the dispatcher was talking to him and asking what happened. He received a North Coast Region’s 2011 Young Hero of the Year Award for saving his mom. Another boy, 10-year old Kye Tanner from Caboolture, saved his aunt Rebecca Hodgkinson by calling 000 too. He was able to describe the manner in which his aunt fainted and thus led the dispatcher to discern that his aunt had an epileptic seizure. He was given an Assistant Commissioner’s Bravery and Commendation Award.