How to prepare with children for sudden disasters: tips you can incorporate into daily life.
A family living in Chiryu City, Aichi Prefecture. They have a first-grade son and a four-year-old daughter who get along very well.
The mother is a member of a parent-led disaster prevention group. Together with parents across Japan, mainly in Aichi Prefecture, she plans disaster prevention events for families and shares information.
What they emphasize is “daily communication.” When an earthquake occurred near the Kamchatka Peninsula in July and a wide-area tsunami warning was issued, they took the opportunity to discuss tsunamis with the children.
“We watched news footage and talked about how a big earthquake had occurred overseas and a tsunami was coming to Japan. We explained that this water isn’t just seawater—it can carry cars, sweep people away, contain debris, and is very dangerous.”
During summer vacation, she set aside time to learn about disaster prevention with the children. She shared some everyday tips. The first theme was “preparing for power outages.”
“We played a game where we darkened the room and looked for dangerous spots, then placed glow-in-the-dark tape there.”
This game involves walking or running through a darkened room to find hazardous areas and marking them with glow tape.
Learning through play also helps reduce fear.
“If parents do everything themselves, children may panic during an actual earthquake. It’s important to let them take initiative.”
Next is “making an emergency backpack.” The hint is a school backpack.
“In an emergency, if you can’t run and escape quickly, you might lose your life. It’s crucial that the bag is light enough to carry while walking or running.”
The key is a weight “that the child can carry themselves.” They pack emergency supplies to match the weight of a school backpack.
The son’s school backpack weighs about 3.5 kg, and his emergency backpack is around 3 kg. There’s also a “child-specific point.”
To reduce stress during evacuation, in addition to drinks, snacks, and changes of clothes, it’s good to include things the children “like.”
The third topic is “trying out an emergency toilet.” During disasters, many people struggle with securing toilet access. During the Noto Peninsula earthquake at the beginning of last year, many areas experienced water outages, leaving toilets unusable for extended periods.
“We use an emergency toilet made from a flowerpot, usually kept in the car. It doesn’t take up much space, is the right size for a child, and is cost-effective—we use a 100-yen shop flowerpot.”
The method is simple: place a bag over the flowerpot and add a solidifying agent. The children use this “flowerpot toilet” regularly, even during car trips.
Q: Is it important to practice with your children?
“If they don’t know whether they can actually sit here and use it, nervousness might make it impossible. We don’t want them to hold it in, so we practice regularly.”
What is the key point for families learning about disaster prevention together?
“It’s important that they can protect themselves. We teach them how to stay safe and absolutely survive. We want to raise their disaster preparedness awareness.”
