[OldFashionedMama]

This is a subject I really didn't give much thought to until Hurricane Katrina. My first child was a newborn when it happened, and I remember seeing the footage of those helpless people trapped in shelters, wading through flooded streets, the reports of babies starving because they had no clean water to prepare formula. The whole thing really made me think about the choices and sacrifices that parents have to make. But it also made me think about how we can plan accordingly for our little ones, should the unthinkable happen.
What are your thoughts on this? If you have children, how are you organizing your survival plan to best accomodate their needs?

 

[Jason]

Our only child, a son, is almost 15 months old. Formula was not an issue for him, as he drank straight from the tap. I know, however, that some women choose not to, or are unable, to breast feed so formula is the only way to go.

We keep extra clothes and shoes for him all over the place, at our home, in her Jeep and my truck, in his diaper bag, etc. We typically carry tons of extra supplies in his diaper bag and the Jeep is always loaded for bear with his stuff. We have a battery powered DVD player and extra DVD's in the Jeep for routine use, but it will come in handy to keep him occupied in, say, an evacuation situation, if one would arise. We carry food for him, even when we go out to eat, and if it's above freezing we keep H2O in the Jeep just as a matter of principle.

We feel we are ready to go as far as his needs. We have tons of clothes for him because we shop at the thrift stores for much of his clothing (as well as our own) so we can buy much more than we could afford if it were new.

 

[NaeKid]

Also - consider your BOL (Bug Out Location) having supplies as well. My place is the BOL for my daughter and her family (including my grandson) if something was to happen to their house and they wouldn't be able to get home. We have a bedroom just for our grandson filled with toys, clothes and supplies as we love to babysit as often as possible picking him up from daycare on Friday afternoon and keeping him till Sunday evening ...

Don't rely only on yourself to take care of your child / children - get your family members invovled as well - grandparents (usually) love to take the grandkids and have a more "disposable" income to fill their homes with the stuff that the kidlettes need to survive and enjoy life.

BTW: Our grandson is almost 5 now .. we have taken care of him on many weekend and full-weeks (camping, etc) since he was newborn.

 

[preparednesspro]

While we don't have children ourselves, we store diapers, diaper wipes, and children's medicine. Part of our preparedness game plan is to help refugees that we'll inevitably encounter in an emergency situation and we're bound to happen upon those with children. I also have baby food recipes that can be made from items in my food storage.