72 Hour Kit Ideas Week #20: Baby / Kids

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This post is full of tips for adding baby and kid supplies to your 72 hour kit.

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Baby / Kids and 72 hour kits

I feel it is very important to be extremely well prepared if there are children in you household.  So, I am suggesting you take 1 week every 6 month (this week!) to go back over your 72 hour kit and make sure it has what you would need to provide for your kids (if you have them).  Even if you don’t have them you may want to throw in a few of these items as you may need to help displaced children.  Here are a few suggestions:

  • Water that is quick & easy to access; maybe even something that seems a little “fun,” like these aqua blox since they look like juice boxes.
  • Drink mix to make stored water more palatable.  Remember, young kids don’t realize they can die from dehydration.  They just won’t drink if it doesn’t taste right.
  • Food you are sure they will eat.  Freeze dried fruit in pouches, candy, raisins, squeezable fruit or applesauce pouches, trail mix etc.
  • Baby food in your infant eats it or just crush your freeze dried fruit and add water to create healthy, preservative free baby food!
  • Baby Formula
  • Sippy cups and /or bottles
  • Pacifiers / Binkies if your kids use them
  • Baby spoons
  • Lots of wipes / napkins
  • Clothes that are just a bit too big for them now so they will last until you rotate again
  • Good shoes: again, a bit too big is better than too small!
  • Something comforting for nighttime: a piece of a favorite blanket, a mini-stuffed animal etc.
  • Infant front / back carrier.
  • Diapers & wipes and / or pullups: again, a bit too big is better than too small!
  • Burp Cloths
  • Child friendly meds: pain killers, allergy meds etc.
  • Flashlights they know how to use and can physically hold / handle
  • Toys & Entertainment (discussed in detail last week)
  • A child leash / line of sorts.  You won’t be able to carry your children and all your stuff and it could be very difficult to keep track of them (especially if you have 4 four and under like me!).  I don’t use a leash everyday, but I would in such a situation.
  • Instant milk powder (milk is a HUGE comfort food for my kids).  Thanks to reader Jennifer for reminding me about this!
  • Laminated ID cards for each child with an out of state contact number (often during emergencies, you will not be able to make local calls.  So, if someone finds your kids, they can call Grandma, and Grandma can call you!)

Other ideas?  Leave a comment below!

 

 

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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

91 thoughts on “72 Hour Kit Ideas Week #20: Baby / Kids”

  1. Have you ever considered about including a little bit more
    than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and all.
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    Reply
  2. My boys are 15 and 11 so I think we are covered for this week. They really don’t need anything special. I did take time this week to organize and pack my 4 packs…..previously all my survival goodies were in a pile. I made laminated ID/emergency notification tags for each pack.

    Reply
  3. A friend of mine found child sized headlamps at home depot for 5 bucks. I also found then at Walmart. Not only useful but fun for them.

    Reply
  4. I decided to add an old dog leash to our packs. This I will be able to clip on to my daughters (3yo) backpack in the event that we are ion a large group of people walking somewhere. I also added my old Moby Wrap to my pack. Although we don’t use it anymore for her since she is pretty big, it would be extremely helpful in taking some of the load off if we did need to carry her piggyback or on the hip.

    Reply
  5. I don’t have kids in the house anymore, but I do have family with young children close by. The chances of us ending up together if an emergency happened is good, so I should put a few extra things in my bag just to soothe nerves if needed. I think I might look into the new Crystal Light liquid flavorings and see what the shelf life is if unopened. I think these would be good because it doesn’t come pre-measured, so if you need to flavor just a small amount of water you can just add small squirt and not worry about sealing the powder back up and it possibly spilling. I would keep it in a zip lock bag though, just in case it leaked. I will also just add a few extra things to my snacks that I think they may like. I know I can’t prepare for them completely, but hopefully if I have something different than their parents it might just be the little thing that helps alleviate some tension or keeps the tears or fits at bay for a while.

    Reply
  6. I need to change out my little guys clothes to the next few sizes. I realize he need shoes and more socks now that he is walking also.

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  7. I would like to have cards, coloring books & activities books, scrabble and dictionary, id’s for all specifically children, elderly and disabled, and some of what has been listed in this blog including bottle, formula just in case found a baby who needed help.

    Reply
  8. My son is 10 and we just had an Identikid card made at school to add to our kit. I want to work on our paperwork and documents next.

    Reply
  9. This week I added a Sparkie fire starter and a Emergency blanket to one of our packs. I am still trying to get all our packs together on a limited budget so I only purchase a few little things a week for each pack. I have 2 children, a 15 yr old son and a 4 yr old girl. So far I have purchased puzzle books (crossword/word search, ect…), card games (Uno and Skipbo ect…) and coloring books and crayons. There are lots of things I would still like to get. Slowly but surely I will get our packs together. 🙂

    Reply
  10. We don’t have children, so I haven’t really considered adding any of these things before, but I agree that it makes sense to have things, in case I’m babysitting or I come across a family/child who needs help. I will work on adding things like formula and kid-friendly foods, and possibly a few diapers.

    Reply
  11. I have my adult child and her 15 month old baby living with me and my husband. I also have jut started child care for my 2 month old grand daughter. I had never thought to have a BOB for them, other than a diaper bag for short trips. Now I know I must prepare for them to be with us when it comes time for us to have to bug out. That’s what I’ll be working on this week.
    BTW we don’t have cats so if my comment is drawn I would prefer the $50 GC. Thanks for the chance to win lots of great prizes.

    Reply
  12. So…I have my daughter’s kit all ready. For food, she loves the little pouches of applesauce, so I invested in some of those with the veggies and fruit mixed for her as well as a few on the Koolaid drink pouches as a comfort thing (there’s H20 in her pack as well). As for entertainment for her, along with a full blanket that she no longer uses, I got a few of those activity packs that are sold for 1$. They have stickers, crayons/markers, coloring sheets and an activity sheet in each pack. Each pack is also individually wrapped and comes sealed and can be resealed. I also put in 3 brand new books (brand new so that when she reads them, they will actually entertain her and she won’t miss them on a daily basis). For her snacks, I put in some dried fruit and a mini box of cereal that she loves. It’s small and compact, but also comforting for her. I still need to add rain gear, a stuffed animal, a better flashlight, some chewable meds(regular liquid meds can leak and get messy, and if we’re not with her she can take them herself), and an ID card.

    Reply
  13. This comment is extremely late as I am just now viewing your site. Thank you for all of the helpful tips . : ) I am wondering if you, or anyone else has any tips for me regarding my son. Although I try to be prepared for emergencies, and have many of the things you have suggested…. I have not been able to find a way to discuss emergency situations with my son. This is due to the fact that he is a constant worrier. Sometimes he cries just because he says he thinks he’s going to die. Any time that he hears about a natural disaster or similar circumstances he panics. I have tried to assure him that I am prepared for anything, and because I am a nurse that I would be able to help him no matter what situation, but I haven’t found a way to actually get into detailed emergency plans without worrying him… Any suggestions? (sorry the post got fairly long)

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    • Sorry for the late response here Laura. Busy week! I have a son who seems similar to yours. The first time we talked to him about an earthquake, he cried for hours and didn’t sleep for days. We’ve tried to introduce the subject in very small bits but daily which seems to have helped. Talking about it often seems to make it more “normal” and not so scary. Also, we’ve tried making games out of it. When we did practice our emergency plan, we had a prize at the end and played fun music. He still struggles, but he is better. Also, we don’t talk about a lot of details, we keep the details about the risks very very simple and brief. I hope that is somewhat helpful!

      Reply
  14. Disposable diapers take up a ton of space and are different sizes. I recently found a solution for this. A waterproof cloth diaper cover (or two in case one gets messed) and disposable inserts for them (they look like a long maxi pad.) Grovia, GDiaper and Flip are three companies that make these. The covers are light (comparable to a pair of underwear) and the inserts are compact and very lightweight, and also biodegradable so they can just be buried after use. They are one size fits all (the diaper covers have snaps to make them smaller or larger.) Thought this might be useful to readers with infants! Saves space for more important essentials.

    Reply
    • In a pinch using disposable maxi pads or the bladder control ones can be used too especially for night time accidents. Just as diapers could be used for female needs if necessary. Using waterproof pull on underpants with the super thin cloth diaper burp rags are good for this too they can be easily washed and unfolded to dry faster so they are ready to go the next night.

      Reply
  15. A tip I heard about clothing–pack warm clothes (long-sleeved shirts, pants) for kiddos (and you) that way no matter the time of year your set for an emergency. If it’s warm out you can make warmer clothes cooler by cutting off long sleeves or making pants into shorts. I thought it was a great idea! I’m still in the ‘gathering ideas’ mode and ready to start the DOING mode…you’re week by week method really helps take the “where do I start?!” feelings down a notch! Thanks!

    Reply
  16. I just found you through Pinterest, so I’m going back to start at week one. I have been thinking about making a kit for a long time and just didn’t know where to begin. Thanks for the wonderful tips to get me started.

    Reply
  17. My sons are grown now, all married with children. We try to have some of the grandchildren spend the night or weekend with us as often as we can. A couple of months ago I started buying things for them to have. When I am done each one (there are 9 of them) will have a toiletry bag and a backpack with some emergency items for them. I have been looking for age appropriate toys or things for them to do that does not use batteries! They range in age from 6 months to 14 years old. The younger ones are fairly easy, it is the older ones that I am having trouble with.

    Reply
    • I liked quite a lot of the same things as I got older, I just did different things with them. For example, War, Go Fish, etc. became Rummy, Spit, Egyptian Rat Screw, and Nertz. My suggestions would include Fluxx (card game), LEGO bricks, balls (maybe inflatable to save space and weight), puzzles, colored pencils and sharpener, plain paper, tape (paper sculptures), multi-colored duct tape, string, instructions for magic tricks, paperback books. My husband and I started liking to learn secret codes (Pigpen, Morse) around age 8.

      Reply
  18. I’m glad you mentioned pull ups…with a little one recently potty trained and occasionally having night time accidents having pull ups would be great peace of mind. Other than adding those, I think we are pretty set.

    I found a great idea somewhere on the internet….mini-kits for school aged children. I got little scripture bags and I’ll put in some water, juice pouches, some snacks and a note from me and dad. It’s likely an emergency would happen during the day and it would take me sometime to get to them….especially my son, since his school is a 15 minute drive on a good day with only 2 local bridges to get out there. I figure with a mini-kit they don’t have to worry as much with a little food to put in their tummy and a comfort letter from mom and dad. I figure my daughter middle school aged daughter can keep hers in her locker and I’ll talk to my son’s 1st grade teacher about keeping his in his cubby so it doesn’t have to be carried back and forth to school.

    Reply
  19. I could not find the link to email you directly but was wondering if there is a kit you can purchase for dogs. I don’t have a cat but would love to have a dog kit.

    Reply
    • Shelf Reliance used to offer a dog kit, but not any longer. Maybe they will get a new one. Maybe try Amazon?

      And you can find my email under the “contact” tab at the top, but I should probably add a link to the sidebar too. (-:

      Reply
  20. I don’t have babies but I have kids. I have given their bags coloring books, paper and colored pencils (fear of crayons melting). Definitely going to make the ID cards, that is a fabulous idea.

    Reply
  21. We have most everything on this list. Except for water in a box. Our child loves water thankfully.we don’t have a child harness. But I do have the strap of and old purse that I can connect to both of us. It has the clips on both ends.

    Reply

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