I have been trying to teach Joshi what to do in an emergency for a while now. What to do if Mommy fell and was hurt and needed help and Daddy wasn't around to help. Or visa versa. We've practiced pressing the green button on the phone, then what numbers he would have to dial, and he knows, through lots of practice, that he must press three numbers - 9-1-1.
So we kinda had that down, but then after watching a show where they were discussing the errors people make when making an emergency call - not knowing the address of where the emergency is, not explaining what is wrong with the person who is hurt, I knew I had more work to do. I knew I had to teach Joshi his full address.
Now, ask him what planet he lives on and he'll tell you its earth. Ask him what country he lives in and he'll tell you America. Ask him what state he lives in and he'll tell you Pennsylvania. Ask him what town he lives in and he'll tell you Bethlehem. But the number of his house and the name of his street, he didn't know that. So, we set to work. I asked him, "Joshi, what is your address." He looked down and said, "my shirt and pants!" Ooookay, so now I realize I have a little more work to do here than I had originally anticipated! After lots of practice, explaining that 'address' is where you live not what you're dressed in, and lots of repeating, he got it. "Joshi, what is your address?" "1-3-1-7 Franks Avenue, Spray Hill, Pennsylvania." "Great," I said, "fantastic job honey." I was so pleased he got it, so now I upped the ante to check he really had it and we role played an emergency call. I was the 911 operator, and he was Joshi! Figures! "This is 911 what is your emergency?" "I don't have one," he said, "my Mommy had one, she fell and hurt herself." Bless, I thought to myself. We continued. "What is your name?" "Joshua." "What is your address Joshua?" "1-3-1-7," he said. Silence! Oh man, I thought, he forgot it already. So I persisted. "And what is the name of your street Joshua?" "Franks Avenue." Silence. So I persisted some more. "And what town do you live in?" "Spray Hill, Pennsylvania." "Okay, we will send help right away." Great we did it. He finally knew his address. Now I just have to pray that if we ever do have an emergency that requires him to call 911 by himself, that he gets an operator who is good with kids and knows how to ask questions to a four year old, and to push and prod persistently for information!!! Small order!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)