I tried something today with my children and wanted to share the interesting results with INGOers.
As many here are aware, I'm a big believer in force on force training and training in context and under stress. It's proven effective in firearms training and I wanted to expand the techniques used to help my children better understand their roles during a house fire.
First, a little background. My children are 2-, 4-, and 7-years-old. Several times a year we would talk about fire safety and what they should do in the event of a house fire. Then periodically I would quiz them to see if they had retained the information. In general they would pass these quizzes with no problem. They could identify the smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in our home, locate our outside family meeting place, test a door for fire behind it, ID a fireman, and crawl to avoid smoke.
But up until today it was all just an intellectual exercise.
Today I asked the kids if they wanted to run a few "fire drills". "Sure!" was their enthusiastic reply. I thought this element was important, because if they were simply forced into this I don't think the experience would've been as effective.
We started with another "quiz" and I made sure each understood their roles in the event the fire. Then they went and got into their beds. Even better was that we were all still in our pajamas. It's small details like this that help solidify the experience into the brain's memory. For the first drill they were told that, when the alarm was heard, the boys (who room together) were to go retrieve their little sister, and then make their way to the outside family meeting spot (our mailbox). I had also decided that I would be coming from my bedroom to retrieve them and take them to the meeting spot.
After they had been feigning sleep in their beds for a few minutes my wife pressed "test" on the fire alarm and allowed it to sound for the duration of the scenario. I immediately came from my room and made my way across our small house to their rooms. The two boys were already on their way to their sister's room. I got the little one from her crib and we all made our way out the front door and down to the mailbox.
After the scenario we spent several minutes talking about what they did, how they felt, and what they could do to improve. I noted that both boys wanted to RUN, and I encouraged them to "walk quickly with purpose" but to avoid running unless necessary.
Here is what I learned from this first scenario--
The excitement of successfully executing the first drill had the kids wanting to do another one. So I obliged.
The second scenario started in the same fashion as the first one-- kids in beds, each knowing what to do when the alarm sounded. But this time I wasn't going to go retrieve them (in fact, they would never even see me in this one). I added a twist by putting some duct tape over the front door knob, as well as the door leading out into the garage. This was to simulate their normal exit blocked by fire or circumstance.
When the alarm sounded the boys immediately got up and got their sister from her crib. They quickly made their way to the front door, where they realized they couldn't exit that way. In just a few moments the 4-year-old said "THE BACK DOOR!" and they made their way to the sliding back door, removing the stick blocking the track, exiting the house, and making their way to the mailbox. Unfortunately the 7-year-old forgot about my "no running" speech and wiped out on the driveway, grinding off the skin on his little toe. It was a minor injury, but it helped drive home the point that getting injured while escaping injury doesn't make much sense, especially when it can be avoided.
Here is what I learned in the second scenario--
Once the boys learned the lesson of alternate means of escape, they began asking about going out of the windows. So we went to their room and I showed them how flimsy the screen was, and how simply kicking it out would allow them to escape. But of course they wanted to actually go out the window, so we ran another drill.
Again, this scenario started the exact same way. What I didn't tell the boys in advance was that I was going to hold their door shut, forcing them to go out of the window in their room (I had removed the screen manually by this time). The alarm sounded, and I heard the boys yelling for each other to "wake up!". When the 7-year-old got to the door he gave it a tug. Nothing. He tugged again, and it still wouldn't release. I had a good hold on it from the other side of the door.
"It won't open!" he said.
"C'mon, let's go out the window!" the 4-year-old said.
But the 7-year-old kept tugging on the door.
"C'mon! Let's go! C'mon!"
But the 7-year-old wouldn't stop trying the door. I could hear him getting very flustered and frustrated. At this point I didn't understand why he wasn't going out the window. When it became clear he wasn't going to change his approach I stopped the scenario and let go of the door handle. When I went into the room I found the 7-year-old visibly shaken and beginning to tear up. It was at this point that I realized that I had also not told them in advance that their sister wouldn't be a part of this scenario. He kept trying the door because he refused to leave the house without his little sister.
At first I kicked myself for overlooking this detail. But then I realized that such a scenario was very realistic, and that not staying in a burning house and fighting in vain to save someone is a very good lesson to learn. This experience opened the door for a great conversation about priorities. My wife and I explained to him that getting himself out was very important, and that we had other ways of getting into his sister's room if the door wasn't passable.
At this point it was obvious that, while effective, the drills were over for the day. Anything further would've probably had a negative impact, as the 7-year-old's ability to endure and retain information had reached its limit. His reaction was very visceral, and it served as a reminder to me that such training should always be taken seriously and given the proper respect.
Here is what I learned in the third scenario--
I was glad the kids showed interest in participating in such life-saving scenarios. My hope and prayer is that they never need to call upon these experiences in their lives, but if they do, they are better prepared today than they were yesterday. While the baby was just along for the ride, the boys learned some important things about fire safety, and themselves. I think it also helped to de-mysitify a few things-- like what the fire alarm sounds like, or how a screen can easily be kicked out of a window.
If you haven't thought of a fire safety plan for your family I would encourage you to do so. If you haven't gone over that plan with your family in a while I would recommend bringing up the topic soon. If your family is fully aware of the plan and their roles, try running through the plan in real-time in your pajamas to see if it works. You might be surprised in what you learn.
As many here are aware, I'm a big believer in force on force training and training in context and under stress. It's proven effective in firearms training and I wanted to expand the techniques used to help my children better understand their roles during a house fire.
First, a little background. My children are 2-, 4-, and 7-years-old. Several times a year we would talk about fire safety and what they should do in the event of a house fire. Then periodically I would quiz them to see if they had retained the information. In general they would pass these quizzes with no problem. They could identify the smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in our home, locate our outside family meeting place, test a door for fire behind it, ID a fireman, and crawl to avoid smoke.
But up until today it was all just an intellectual exercise.
Today I asked the kids if they wanted to run a few "fire drills". "Sure!" was their enthusiastic reply. I thought this element was important, because if they were simply forced into this I don't think the experience would've been as effective.
We started with another "quiz" and I made sure each understood their roles in the event the fire. Then they went and got into their beds. Even better was that we were all still in our pajamas. It's small details like this that help solidify the experience into the brain's memory. For the first drill they were told that, when the alarm was heard, the boys (who room together) were to go retrieve their little sister, and then make their way to the outside family meeting spot (our mailbox). I had also decided that I would be coming from my bedroom to retrieve them and take them to the meeting spot.
After they had been feigning sleep in their beds for a few minutes my wife pressed "test" on the fire alarm and allowed it to sound for the duration of the scenario. I immediately came from my room and made my way across our small house to their rooms. The two boys were already on their way to their sister's room. I got the little one from her crib and we all made our way out the front door and down to the mailbox.
After the scenario we spent several minutes talking about what they did, how they felt, and what they could do to improve. I noted that both boys wanted to RUN, and I encouraged them to "walk quickly with purpose" but to avoid running unless necessary.
Here is what I learned from this first scenario--
- Scenario training works on children.
- Both boys experienced increased respiration and were a bit freaked out by how loud and constant the alarm sounded.
- The 7-year-old said his "brain got scattered" when he first heard the alarm.
The excitement of successfully executing the first drill had the kids wanting to do another one. So I obliged.
The second scenario started in the same fashion as the first one-- kids in beds, each knowing what to do when the alarm sounded. But this time I wasn't going to go retrieve them (in fact, they would never even see me in this one). I added a twist by putting some duct tape over the front door knob, as well as the door leading out into the garage. This was to simulate their normal exit blocked by fire or circumstance.
When the alarm sounded the boys immediately got up and got their sister from her crib. They quickly made their way to the front door, where they realized they couldn't exit that way. In just a few moments the 4-year-old said "THE BACK DOOR!" and they made their way to the sliding back door, removing the stick blocking the track, exiting the house, and making their way to the mailbox. Unfortunately the 7-year-old forgot about my "no running" speech and wiped out on the driveway, grinding off the skin on his little toe. It was a minor injury, but it helped drive home the point that getting injured while escaping injury doesn't make much sense, especially when it can be avoided.
Here is what I learned in the second scenario--
- The kids adapted much quicker to the unexpected blocked door than I had anticipated.
- Often there is more than one way to egress, keep your head up and be aware of your surroundings.
- Running when it isn't necessary can get you hurt.
Once the boys learned the lesson of alternate means of escape, they began asking about going out of the windows. So we went to their room and I showed them how flimsy the screen was, and how simply kicking it out would allow them to escape. But of course they wanted to actually go out the window, so we ran another drill.
Again, this scenario started the exact same way. What I didn't tell the boys in advance was that I was going to hold their door shut, forcing them to go out of the window in their room (I had removed the screen manually by this time). The alarm sounded, and I heard the boys yelling for each other to "wake up!". When the 7-year-old got to the door he gave it a tug. Nothing. He tugged again, and it still wouldn't release. I had a good hold on it from the other side of the door.
"It won't open!" he said.
"C'mon, let's go out the window!" the 4-year-old said.
But the 7-year-old kept tugging on the door.
"C'mon! Let's go! C'mon!"
But the 7-year-old wouldn't stop trying the door. I could hear him getting very flustered and frustrated. At this point I didn't understand why he wasn't going out the window. When it became clear he wasn't going to change his approach I stopped the scenario and let go of the door handle. When I went into the room I found the 7-year-old visibly shaken and beginning to tear up. It was at this point that I realized that I had also not told them in advance that their sister wouldn't be a part of this scenario. He kept trying the door because he refused to leave the house without his little sister.
At first I kicked myself for overlooking this detail. But then I realized that such a scenario was very realistic, and that not staying in a burning house and fighting in vain to save someone is a very good lesson to learn. This experience opened the door for a great conversation about priorities. My wife and I explained to him that getting himself out was very important, and that we had other ways of getting into his sister's room if the door wasn't passable.
At this point it was obvious that, while effective, the drills were over for the day. Anything further would've probably had a negative impact, as the 7-year-old's ability to endure and retain information had reached its limit. His reaction was very visceral, and it served as a reminder to me that such training should always be taken seriously and given the proper respect.
Here is what I learned in the third scenario--
- If we had never run these drills under stress we never would've identified the 7-year-old's strong hesitancy to stay in the house for a sibling.
- The 4-year-old did REALLY well in all scenarios. He was especially good at communicating during the drills. That's something most adults have trouble with.
I was glad the kids showed interest in participating in such life-saving scenarios. My hope and prayer is that they never need to call upon these experiences in their lives, but if they do, they are better prepared today than they were yesterday. While the baby was just along for the ride, the boys learned some important things about fire safety, and themselves. I think it also helped to de-mysitify a few things-- like what the fire alarm sounds like, or how a screen can easily be kicked out of a window.
If you haven't thought of a fire safety plan for your family I would encourage you to do so. If you haven't gone over that plan with your family in a while I would recommend bringing up the topic soon. If your family is fully aware of the plan and their roles, try running through the plan in real-time in your pajamas to see if it works. You might be surprised in what you learn.
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