Emergency Contacts

[ilfaith]

Who do you have listed as emergency contacts to call if something goes wrong with your children at school and you and your spouse can't be reached?

Today DS2 became sick at school. They tried to contact me but I was at a doctor's appointment (another ultrasound, but that's for another post entirely) and they don't allow cell phones in the exam rooms. My husband was working from home, but had scheduled meetings and couldn't pick my son up right away. When I did show up at the school after my appointment I was told that I needed to provide an emergency contact in case such a situation should arise again. But I honestly don't know who to list.

We have no family in the area, so that is not a possibility. I have neighbors who are a lovely retired couple, who have babysat for us a few times, but it's not like they have a car seat in their car if one of my children needed to be picked up. Most of our friends are either working or have young children of their own to take care of. But even if I did know somebody who had a flexible schedule and car seats, I wonder how comfortable they'd be putting someone else's sick and possibly contagious child in their own kid's car seat.

So I am wondering, what everyone does about emergency contacts? I suppose I'll need to provide a few names, but at the moment I have no idea who to list.

[kijip]

After us, we have:

-My close friends who have kids (and extra carseats)
-My brother's partner (and my brother too, but my brother is not the driver)
-My dad.
-Godparents

The people I list also list me. I would pick up their sick child in a heartbeat, even if it meant leaving my job or dropping my own kids off at my parent's on the way. I list people that would do the same for me in return. In emergencies, I like to think that people can come together for you even if it is not convenient. Ask a few people if you can use them, I can't imagine anyone would say no. For the retired couple, maybe give them access to your garage to pick a spare seat if they needed too.

[dhano923]

In order:
My mom
My dad
my brother
my sis-in-law
We bought my parents a booster car seat when they were on sale last year -- it was about $30. My mom keeps it in her car in case she needs to pick up a kid. DH goes on business trips and is gone for 2-7 days at a time, and I can't always get off work right away.

[pharmjenn]

I don't have kids in school yet, but it doesn't sound like it would have taken you that long to get there after your appt. Do they really need someone on the list that can come within minutes? If a child is that sick, they should be taking an ambulance to the ER. I would say the school is being unrealistic, especially if you have no family nearby. If the elderly neighbors are comfortable with the task, I like the PP idea of allowing them access to your garage to get a spare seat.

[TwinFoxes]

Are you sure they meant you needed to give them the number of someone who could actually pick up the kids? I read it as they needed someone who would know how to get in touch with you or your husband. It seems like the neighbors would be perfect for that. If the school had their number, they would have been able to go knock on your door and tell your hubby it was an emergency. But maybe I'm misunderstanding. It just seems a school wouldn't want strangers (strange to the school) coming to pick up kids.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Myself, my dh, my mom, my ILs.

My friends with no family in the area have us listed as their emergency contact. I think I am on 2 friends' lists come to think of it.

Beth

[amldaley]

I am surprised the school didn't have you list contacts already. DDs daycare requires three and they test call them. However, I don't consider a sick kid an emergency unless he/she is super sick (like, see a Dr NOW sick). Maybe w/ swine flu, schools are being extra careful?

As a military family, we pretty much never have family anywhere within 1000 miles.

Contact 1 is dd's Godmother, another military wife who has no kids and no regular job

Contact 2 is a neighbor we know in a social, neighborly way.

Neither of them have car seats. I figure in a TRUE emergency, we'd figure it out.

Contact 3 is a co-worker with two young kids whom I like, trust, has carseats etc.

Something else to consider is your states laws on child custody. In NC, (where we live), if DH and I are both rendered unable to care for dd, (death, coma, disapperance, alien abduction), or if I am while he is deployed, dd would become a ward of the state and go to foster care if we haven't named someone to care for her. Next of kin would have to go to court to get her.

I'd talk to those neighbors. We are looking at buying a used seat off craigslist to keep in the garage in case of emergency and instructing our contacts how to get in to garage.

[bnme]

That really doesn't sound like a true emergencey that would require someone other than you to pick him up.

How long were they waiting? I have my bil (who lives 30 minutes away and has kids/work etc), and a good friend with kids the same age (who also has limited family and I am contact for them). Was your DH able to explain that you'd be there within a cartain time frame? I would have been annoyed if they called my contacts for that.

I always figured the emergency contact was for a true emergency (like you just never showed up to get your kid and they couldn't reach you, or a sick kid and you couldn't get there within an hour) and they would be able to figure out the car seats, etc with the schools help if needed. For my contacts it may take an hour or more just for them to be able to come up with a plan and come get them.

[hez]

Our family's all 3+ hours away, so we have a friend, our kids' babysitter (DCP), and another friend on our list. Ohio mandates that there be three emergency contacts on the list for all kids in day care or school settings. I just filled out paperwork for before/after school care for next year, and noticed the form said the contacts had to be in the immediate area.

[KrisM]

DS just is in preschool, but we have my parents as emergency contact. They're about an hour away, but I figure emergency means "emergency" - the kid needs attention NOW. They'd call that number if DS was on his way to the hospital or something and couldn't contact me. But, if he was sick, I'd expect him to be taken care of while me or DH came to get him. And, I'd probably expect DH to move a meeting if he had to do it (but that's possible in his job, I'm sure it's not in all).

Other than that I have a handful of friends on the list who are able to pick him up. I have used that often if I'm running late getting back from an appointment and I'll have a friend get him from class and just wait for me in the school (there's a charge for picking up late).

[WatchingThemGrow]

We're not in school yet, but will be soon, so I'll need to set up some contacts who can come get DD if I'm unable, so thanks for the PSA!

1) Our Kindermusik teacher has a special ring programmed on her phone so that if her chidrens' schools call during class, she KNOWS to go pick it up. Perhaps DH can do the same in that circumstance since he's the obvious choice when you're at an appt.
2) i'd ask the neighbors. They'd probably be more than happy to help in that way.
3) Another mom in the school is who a lot of parents had listed when I was teaching.
4) - most importantly- a LOT of schools have spare carseats around because there are ALWAYS families without transportation whose kids ride the bus to/from school -Those kids get sick and have the nurse, social worker, asst. principal or whomever drive the child back to their homes during the school day. Ask yours if they have one for that purpose or if you need to get a seat your neighbors can access at your house. I bet they do have an emergency carseat in a closet somewhere!

[billysmommy]

We have my parents and my brother/SIL listed as emergency contacts for the boys. These are for in case they can't reach DH or I and there was a true emergency.

Their schools also want someone who can pick them up within an hour if they are sick ~ I have my brother/SIL listed for this as they are close by but because of their work they are not always available. I usually send a note in their folder if I know I'm going to be unreachable for a small amount of time (dr/dentist appt) and ask the teachers that if they are sick to leave me a message and I will be there as soon as I am done. None of them have had a problem with that. I also let the Drs know that I have my phone on quiet and if my son's school calls I will need to answer it ~ they have never had a problem with it.

[belovedgandp]

I have a friend with a child in the same school. She'd find a way to get my son if it truly was an emergency. But with little ones they just don't have the people to dedicate sitting with a child for a long period of time.

I was running late for school pick up from a doctor's appointment. My friend "picked up" my son and her daughter, but they just hung out at the park across the street for the 20 minutes until I could get there.

Her daughter was sick and they couldn't get her or her husband this fall. I was called. I was able to catch up with them, so same thing. I took the sick child out of school, but we just sat in the parking lot for 15 minutes until her mom came.

[elliput]

When DD was in daycare, we had neighbors listed as the emergency contacts. Luckily, they were SAHM's with kids of similar age to DD.

[bubbaray]

In our current daycare, our emergency contact is friends who live 5 hours away! However, this is truly for extreme emergencies like an earthquake -- and, in fact, the gov't here asks people to have out of town emergency contacts far away for that purpose.

When they switch daycares and DD#1 goes to school this September, I'll probably ask another friend of mine to be contact #1 and the out of town friends will be #2.

[almostmom]

I have so much trouble with this. Currently after us I have our parents, but they are 45 minutes and 90 minutes away. I just don't have anyone else! We both work, so don't have many friends in our town. The ones we do know all work, so they couldn't do it. I find filling out that form stressful and sad. It always makes me feel lonely, like why don't I have any friends who I could ask to help out? But I literally don't feel like I do.

Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone.

The school just needs to understand that you are as accessible as possible, and only in emergencies do you turn off your cell.

[bubbaray]

I find filling out that form stressful and sad. It always makes me feel lonely, like why don't I have any friends who I could ask to help out? But I literally don't feel like I do.




:yeahthat:


I have told our daycare our situation and will tell the new daycare & school. We just do not have anyone and its not like they can force me to name a complete stranger, KWIM?

[egoldber]

I find filling out that form stressful and sad. It always makes me feel lonely, like why don't I have any friends who I could ask to help out? But I literally don't feel like I do.

:yeahthat:

I have a neighbor listed as the first contact. She is a mom to a kid in Sarah's class, so she can take Sarah in am immediate emergency kind of thing.

After that, I have my 2 SILs listed. They live about 3 hours away and in case of a true emergency (I'm thinking something happened to both DH and myself, something happened to me while DH was out of town) they would be the ones to come and get the kids anyway.

[Tondi G]

Our contacts are

My mom, my MIL, my sister, our friends who's kids are also at the school, my best friend

[almostamom]

My neighbor/friend who has carseats in her car.
DS' best friend's mom
Friend/mom from playgroup

All of these women have children who attend school at the same time my child does, so I figure if they had to pick up DS due to an illness during the school day, they would have an empty carseat.

My parents are also on the list, but they live 30 miles away.

I always have my cell phone on me, but if I'm somewhere I might not hear it, such as the dentist, I leave the office number with his teacher just in case.

I'm the mom that everyone else has on their emergency contact info. We always have an extra carseat in our car just in case of something like this.

Linda

[maestramommy]

After ourselves, the only contact we could come up with this year was Dh's uncle and aunt, who live 45 minutes away in MA. We honestly didn't know our neighbors well enough to ask. Hopefully that will change soon.

[hollybloom24]

I have a neighbor who has keys to my house. She doesn't have a car seats, but in a true emergency, I'd trust her to figure it out.