A child's own go bag

During an evacuation many things happen at once, and children quickly feel helpless: adults are stressed, everything is fast and nobody has time for explanations. A familiar bag of their own gives a child something to hold on to – literally and figuratively. They have a task (“Get your backpack and put it on”) and know that their things are coming along.

At the same time, the child's backpack takes light items such as spare clothes, snacks and toys off the adults. But everything heavy and everything important – medication, emergency medication, documents, larger water supplies – stays in the parents' bags. The child's bag supplements the family go bag; it does not replace it.

Children who help pack their bag know what is inside. That makes it their bag, not a strange object pushed into their hands.

The backpack itself should be small and light, with padded straps. The most important rule: fully packed, the child must be able to carry it comfortably, even for a while. There is no fixed weight limit; try it out by having the child carry it on a walk. If it becomes uncomfortable, something comes out.

The basics include a change of clothes, rain protection, a water bottle, a long-lasting snack the child likes, a torch or headlamp, a whistle and tissues. Add something familiar that the child chooses themselves: a small soft toy, a book, a card game or crayons. This item is often the most important one, because it gives comfort in unfamiliar surroundings.

The contact card has the child's name, the parents' names and phone numbers, the contact person outside the region and the agreed meeting point. It goes inside the backpack, not visible from outside, and no home address is readable from outside. The family code word does not belong on the card.

Three things in the backpack are meant for the case where a child is briefly separated from the family. A whistle is much louder than a child's voice and lasts longer than shouting. Several short blasts in a row, often three, are widely understood as a call for help. Above all, though, explain one simple rule to the child: the whistle is only for real emergencies, not for play.

The lamp helps the child to be seen in the dark and to see. The contact card helps helpers reach the parents if the child is too upset to remember their numbers. Talk with the child about whom they may show the card to: emergency services, teachers or staff at an assembly point.

The child's medication, emergency medication and important documents always belong in the adults' bags, not in the child's backpack. A child can lose their bag, leave it behind or swap it with another child. Besides, no child should have to make decisions about medication in an emergency.

Babies and toddlers do not need a bag of their own – the parents carry everything for them. When a child can sensibly carry a small backpack depends on the child, not on a fixed age. If the child carries a school bag, a mini version with contact card and small lamp can also stay there, if the school allows it.

Include the backpack in drills at home. During an escape-route drill, the child fetches their backpack, puts it on and comes along to the meeting point. That way they know where the bag is, and grabbing it becomes second nature. The backpack should stand in a fixed place the child can reach easily.

Children grow fast, and snacks expire. So check the backpack together about every six months: do the clothes still fit? Is the snack still good, and does the child still like it? Does the lamp work, or do the batteries need replacing? Are the phone numbers on the card correct? The backpack has to “grow” with the child.

Ready.gov and Ready Kids recommend involving children in packing the emergency kit and including familiar items such as toys or books. Packing can become a small joint project the child is proud of.