Guest post from Dianna Scofield
Make a backpack emergency kit
Here’s a super-quick back-to-school project for you.
This only took me about ten minutes, including sewing the bag.
Kids run into little emergencies on the way to and from school—and while they’re there, too. I wanted my son to have a few little extras in his backpack, in case he (or someone else!) falls and skins a knee on the way to school, or forgets their lunch, or any of those other little problems second graders run into.
First, I gathered my supplies. I included two bandages, a small package of tissues, a wet wipe, and a few dollars in cash.
Next, I made a bag to hold the supplies. I chose to sew a bag so the cash wouldn’t be as visible to my son’s classmates. However, you could fold up the money in some paper to hide it, and use a plastic zipper bag to save you some time.
If you would like to sew a simple envelope bag for your kit, I have a tutorial here. It is so easy to sew, it only took me about five minutes. And I used a scrap of old pajama pants, so it was free!
Once you have your supplies and your bag, all you need to do is put everything together and stow it away in your child’s backpack.
I’ve kept this kit pretty simple, but I’m sure there are other things that would be useful. I’d love to have your suggestions in the comments for other items that might come in handy.
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We have our mini emergency kit in small bright red zippered pouch so it is easy to find in the backpack. An inexpensive (think Dollar Tree) pencil case would also work well. In addition to what you mentioned above, I include a couple of safety pins (depending upon the age of the child, of course) and my teen daughter has added a Tide pen and some feminine products (which have come in handy even for her friends’ “emergencies”. Other items could include a card with a list of emergency contact numbers, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and a mini flashlight. I have a similar pouch for myself that I carry in my day bag, which also has acetaminophen, a Leatherman Squirt (which includes a pair of scissors and tweezers) and a small card with a needle and thread.
What you put into the kit is very dependent upon the age of your child and what kinds of “situations” you feel they may get into when they are away from home. Obviously, you don’t want it to become cumbersome and overwhelming, but even items such as mini packets of sunscreen or one of those Mylar survival blankets which fold up super small could become useful, especially, if you are like my daughter, whose school needed to evacuate to the hot, sunny, unprotected tennis courts for a couple of hours when the school became unsafe, but they couldn’t coordinate buses home.
This post was a great reminder for me to check my daughter’s supplies and note which items need to be replenished for the upcoming school year.