Recently, shootings have become more and more frequent, and many of these terrible shootings have occurred in schools, which has aroused great concern of many people, especially those parents who send their children to school every day. They can’t get close to their children all day,When they are far away from their children, they can’t protect their children all the time.
So at this time, let your children prepare for the worst, teach them how to respond in dangerous situations, and have the right equipment to protect themselves in the most critical time, which may greatly save their lives.
Importance Of Preparation In Advance
In nature, if you encounter danger, you will either subconsciously escape or instinctively produce a combat response.
As the saying goes, in most cases, an unexpected situation will freeze you, just like a deer in the headlights. It is difficult for normal people to make dazzling and provocative reactions to avoid risks like movie stars.
Understanding this common reaction is why it is very important for their safety to prepare your children for such moments.
For a person caught off guard, over time, the brain begins to assess the situation and take appropriate action. However, this cognitive assessment takes time, but your child can’t waste time.
Preparing emergency plans and strengthening them regularly greatly speeds up the process, enabling your child to take action without hesitation, reduce their chances of potential harm and survive.
Communicate With Your Children
The important thing is to educate your children about the seriousness of mass shootings and let them understand that positive shootings need to be taken very seriously, and this may happen to you, not something very far away from you.
For parents, don’t try to despise or ignore any fear they may have.
Be sure to teach them how to make plans around fear, so that they can take definite action when this happens, rather than standing still, which will be very dangerous.
Run, Hide, Fight!
If your child finds himself in a shooting state that is likely to receive, teach them to “run, hide and fight”, because this reinforces the three main actions that children should take.
They should always give priority to keeping themselves as far away from threats as possible and fleeing the area. If there is no feasible escape route, they should hide or hide themselves so that the gunmen cannot find or enter their place.
If they are close to the gunman and have no escape route or hiding place, they need to defend themselves (see below).
Teaching your child to assess the situation and decide which of the three actions to take is essential to ensure that they take as few risks as possible.
Know When To Hide And Where To Escape
Let your child know all the available exits where they often go, whether at school or at home, so that they can quickly reach a safe place in the event of an accident.
They should also understand that these exits can only be used when they are sure that they can get there, without risking danger and potential hiding places and allowing them to meet the perpetrators, making it impossible for them to escape.
Running as fast as possible in a straight line towards the exit provides the greatest safety opportunity. They need to know that they can’t try to pretend to be dead.
Because records show that gunmen are very likely to return to the previous area and shoot down the body.
If gunmen shoot your children and force them to fall to the floor, they should try to keep their hands and knees on the ground and keep their body slightly raised, because bullets may also bounce back from the floor.
If the gangster meets your child while being pursued and has no actual cover to hide, moving in zigzag mode and making fast, random turns may be effective until they can seize the first chance to escape.
If they can’t escape, they should find a hidden place. They can set up roadblocks, such as a small room, where they can lock the door and block it with furniture.
Other less desirable but feasible locations include closets or lockers.
No matter how they do it, they should give priority to getting away from the danger as soon as possible.
What Should We Do After Running Away Or Hiding
After your child has successfully escaped or found a suitable location for roadblocks and hiding, they shall not try to go back or leave the safety zone of any personal belongings, no matter how valuable they are.
If they happen to have a mobile phone while hiding, please call 911, but only if they are sure that the mobile phone is safe. When talking to the dispatcher, briefly explain the situation and don’t hang up so that they can track any progress.
If they are hiding and unsafe, just call 911 and ask the dispatcher to answer the phone.
When Fighting With Attacker
If running away or hiding is not a viable option, your child will have to defend himself.
The first option is to throw anything nearby at the gunman when going to the exit. If there is nothing to throw and there is no choice at all, your child will need to physically attack the gunman.
Don’t flinch, aim at weak parts such as groin, neck and eyes. Once the gunman is disarmed or incapacitated, flee as soon as possible.
Consider Investing In Protective Backpacks And Equipment
No matter how well prepared your child is in such a situation, you will always pay attention to the safety of your child.
Bulletproof backpacks and backpack panels can provide an additional layer of safety and relief, knowing that no matter what happens, your child will have some they can use to protect themselves. Remember, these items are not perfect and can only provide protection to a certain extent.
It is also important to understand the various armor options you or your child can equip.
Hard armor plates provide more protection (up to rifle bullets), but they are also heavier when weighed, because they can weigh up to 8 pounds or more. Soft armor plates provide less protection (pistol bullets), but they are lighter (usually less than 2 pounds) and are usually recommended for young children.
However, no matter how much protection your child has, please emphasize the extreme importance of escaping first and keep yourself away from danger as far as possible.
For more information about bulletproof backpack and backpack panel, you can refer to our article. Should you buy bulletproof backpack or bulletproof backpack armor? What kind of bulletproof backpack or backpack armor should I buy?
