There is a difference between teaching a kid to make the best decisions and making them think like adults. This is what is happening in most schools today with the drills that are a common trend all over the country. Our kids are now facing anxiety because they are worrying like adults after they come from a drill that is supposed to teach them to protect themselves.
There is a need to teach the children to be prepared in case of an emergency and when there is a drill the kids should be told that it is a drill. These drills keep them safe and teach them some important skills
that might help when they face a dangerous situation.
In several incidences, schools are indulging in these fear-inducing activities without knowing the impact it has on the kids. In some schools, they use fake smoke to fill the school so that the kids can learn how
to crawl from a smoke-filled room. A high school in Florida even sent the whole school into a panic when they failed to warn the kids that there was a drill. In another school in Colorado, they even tried to prepare the kids to fight back and not just run.
There is now a complaint that kids are not allowed to be kids anymore. All these drills and the anxiety that the schools are creating are adding to the fear and giving kids nightmares. Even after a drill, a child
will still feel fearful and it might take time convincing them that this was all an act. The kids are already overwhelmed with the amount of homework they get and now they are required to overcome bad men, fake smoke, and learn combat tactics.
Emergency preparedness in schools is not new but emotionally scarring the kids is not necessary. Although our kids must learn to stay safe when faced with a dangerous situation, it is also the adult’s responsibility to protect the kids. Most parents do their best when teaching their kids not to walk in the
street and not allowing them to watch graphic movies.
Several kid-friendly ways can be used to teach the students how to stay safe when they face danger. This should be combined with teaching them basic life skills. Parents are speaking against the drill and also the safety of these drills. Some of them conducted on young kids like first-graders may be
traumatizing and it is not easy to get the child to go to school the next morning.
Instead of teaching the child to protect themselves, the drills are instilling fear and in some cases, they may not remember to do the same when they face real danger. It has become clear to most parents that although the drills might be necessary, they are also terrifying.
Children with a history of trauma or anxiety have a hard time with these drills. And they need extra care.