A Hot Mama

There have been 2 school shootings in Los Angeles schools in the past 2 days.

My heart goes out to all the parents and children affected by these tragic events.

The most recent shooting in Woodland Hills cause 9 Los Angeles schools to go on lockdown while police searched for the suspect.

Then it dawned on me that this could happen near or at my my children’s LAUSD school. I immediately thought, “what do I need to do to be prepared for an emergency like this?”.

I realized that old school methods of calling the school or local police department would be inundated with calls and perhaps not able to give out a lot of info.

So, I came up with a list to deal with a modern day school crises. Get your list together too. Don’t wait for a shooting, earthquake, fire, or other natural disaster to occur. You will most likely be in panic mode. Take pre-emptive measures so you and your family will be prepared.

1. Turn to social media sites such as facebook and twitter. I found out about both incidents from facebook status updates of other parents. Many parents also said that even though they couldn’t talk to their children, the kids who were on lockdown were able to tweet, do status updates, and some even posted video. It provided a lot of peace of mind for worried parents. Don’t keep using the lame excuse of facebook and twitter are for kids. Get with the times. This is a major means of communication and knowledge.

2. Have numbers of other parents on hand. You don’t have to call them regularly, but it is great to be able to talk to a parent or 2 who has a child in your kid’s class. You will be experiencing similar emotions and can keep each other posted with updates.

3. Keep the email and/or phone number of your child’s teacher handy. Again, this is peace of mind. Maybe school lines are  cut or they are too busy to answer, but there are computers in almost all classes and most teachers carry cell phones as well. (I have even managed to get our school principal’s cell # and put it on my speed dial. Shh…don’t tell him).

4. Check local news websites, facebook pages, and tweets. Most news outlets update these sites regularly, especially with late breaking news.

5. Establish an emergency plan with your child. Let your child know that in the event of an emergency they should trust school officials and follow their instructions. My son knows that I am friends will all his class buddies and would feel totally comfortable going home with one of them in an emergency.

It’s almost impossible to be totally prepared for something like this. Hopefully, you never need this info, but if you do, it will make a rough situation easier because you’re a little more prepared.