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The reporting on Y2k has, for the most part, left its impact on our children unaddressed in both general and specific terms. Here are Mountain Y2k's links and suggestions for some details that have not been covered elsewhere on the Web.
How the Year 2000 Problem Impacts Children
http://www.best.com/~cii/y2k_ulrichildren.html
"Preparing one's family for the year 2000 is prudent and children should be made aware of these preparations insomuch as it reduces their stress about the situation. Many people claim that preparing for the year 2000 by stockpiling food, wood, water, medicine and other essentials portrays a survivalist attitude. Those of us working on corporate initiatives believe that it is prudent for large companies to stockpile parts and raw materials as part of their contingency plans. Why then is it considered reactionary for individuals to follow this same line of thinking? The fact is that corporate, government and personal preparation for the year 2000 reflects sound judgement.
Corporations should consider the secondary impacts of the year 2000 on children when asked to sponsor local and national community task force teams. Similarly, offices of emergency services, national agencies, such as FEMA, and other crisis support centers should consider that the year 2000's impact on children during their 1999 planning cycles. Impacts on the economy, healthcare, food supplies, drug availability and other factors could ultimately hit children the hardest. There is no excuse for this happening when there is still time to prepare our society and ourselves." --- William M. Ulrich of the Tactical Strategy Group from this article
Karen Anderson Y2k woman FAQ
http://www.y2kwomen.com/faqs/faq11.html
Karen Anderson 's Y2k Woman FAQ on talking with children about preparedness.
Girl Scouts and Y2k
http://www.girlscouts.org/girls/Why/Y2K/Y2K.htm
What You Can Do About Y2k: A New Meaning for 0ur Motto "Be Prepared." Girl Scout page on individual and community preparation.
Boy Scouts
An Internet search for "Boy Scouts" and "Y2k" turned up no useful leads. What ever happened to "Be prepared?" If any of you Eagle Scouts are doing more for Y2k than the Brownies are, please let us know!
Y2k for Kids
http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/kidsy2k.htm
US General Services Administration (Office of Information Technology) Includes a FAQ section at http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/kidsfaq.htm
FEMA for Kids
http://www.fema.gov/kids/
Warm fuzzy disaster homepage pitched to kids. This site is better at explaining natural disasters than explainingY2k, often lapsing into adultese in the kid page links.
FEMA for Kids Y2k pages
http://www.fema.gov/kids/y2k.htm
Some feedback on FEMA's kids' site
http://www.y2kculture.com/reactions/19990218.kids.html
The ever astute Solveig Singleton comments on the FEMA Y2k kids site.
Kids' Activity Survival Kit
http://www.fema.gov/kids/k_srvkit.htm
Good listing of items for kids to keep in an easily accessible bag in case of emergency. Includes comfort items, " Small people figures and play vehicles you can use to play out what is happening during your disaster -- such as ambulance, fire truck, helicopter, dump truck, police car, small boats." Mountain Y2k suggests that perhaps a few old malfunctioning pocket calculators that the mommy and daddy dolls can yell at might also be useful come Y2k!
FEMA day care recommendations
http://www.fema.gov/kids/daycare.htm
Information on ordering the free "Day Care Center Disaster Kit."
Cool math trick for kids
http://www.2000now.org/kids/1999.htm
Fun math puzzler for kids concerning 1999.
Disaster bibliography
http://www.fema.gov/kids/tch_bks.htm
Bibliography of books about kids coping with disasters
Y2kids
http://www.y2kids.net/index.html
"Y2Kids." Monthly calendars to count down to December 31. Each day has a question about Y2k that can open discussion of issues that kids will encounter. Sensitive, compassionate, and community spirited attitudes.
Baby and toddler first aid video
http://www.firstaidforpets.com/index.html
Offers a baby and toddler first aid video along with their first aid for pets video.
Children and preparedness book offer
http://www.lostarthandicraft.com/html/pond.html
Offers a "Children and preparedness" book, which we have not seen.
Play dough and papier mache recipes. You know how you occasionally get those warm tender thoughts about how nice it is to have a day where the family is cozily snowbound together. By the 3rd day of that proverbial three-day winter storm it sometimes gets a little grim, and your little cherubs have developed the social skills of the Donner party. Print out these recipes now, tape them to the inside of your pantry:
Papier mache recipe
http://family.disney.go.com/Categories/Activities/Features/family_1997_03/famf/famf37puppet/
A good cooked version of the flour paste
Play dough (salt clay) recipe
http://family.disney.go.com/Features/family_0401_02/dony/donytv_indoor/donytv248.html
Dealing with stress after a disaster
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/disaster/490-308/490-308.html
Some very basic tips. Expanded upon and focussing on kids in a religious-based article at http://www.justpeace.org/stresscoping.htm#It is normal f
Does your kid still need a nightlight? Think about what your alternatives are if the power goes out. Look for a solar powered light that can be exposed during the night? Buy one of those battery powered Coleman lanterns with a nightlight feature?
"Snake" light flashlights are excellent for kids during power failures. Hang them in a "U" around the neck for hands-free walking. Get solar battery chargers or have a zillion C cells around, these can eat up batteries. Good also for anyone who needs a walker or cane, or has other mobility problems.
Toy batteries. That set of solar rechargeable AA batteries may be a lifesaver. We all have our comfort needs, and for a 9 year old that may include a Game Boy or other hand-held game. Check your kids' most valued activities for battery needs. They may need some of their accustomed activities the way we adults need our music or other indications that life can still be civilized. (You did remember to have a battery operated CD or tape player for your own comfort, didn't you?)
Shoes. Look inside your children's shoes. There is a good chance that they were made in China. China has the world's highest dependence on pirated software. Will the Chinese factories that turn out all these shoes be Y2k compliant in time? You might want to consider this, and think about buying at least one extra pair of shoes to grow into that your child might be wearing in 2000.
Sleeping bags and pop-up tents (not the kind that need to be staked, obviously) may help kids sleep cozily in a prolonged power outage if you don't have a woodstove or other alternative heater.
Make contingency plans for your pets in case of any Y2k disruptions that might force you to temporarily leave home. See the PETS section on this website for details. Be sure these contingency plans are discussed with kids. You know that you have to talk with the kids about what to do about the pets when discussing any emergency evacuation such as a fire, and you know that the welfare of their pets is terribly important to them.
Comfort foods. Rice and beans will get you through a crisis, but nothing beats chocolate, or gummi bears, or whatever comfort foods help you through hard times. Make sure you are well supplied with anything that means that much to your kids. Appetite fatigue means whiny, ill-fed kids.
Breastfeeding your baby
http://www.lalecheleague.org
La Leche League. Going to be pregnant or a new mother during Y2k? Breastfeeding is the best way you can insure that your baby will not only have the best nutrition and immune system support, but also will provide bonding for mother and baby in a way that is different from bottlefeeding. Phone 1-800-LALECHE for the local group nearest you or follow the links at the website. The monthly La Leche League meetings in your area are a valuable resource for you and your baby, and not only provide support for the mother-to-be and nursing mother, but give information that you won't be able to get elsewhere. Ever think about what the consequences are if the artificial baby food factories are non-compliant, or if distribution networks run into difficulties in an emergency? Anyone in your neighborhood know what herbs and practices can aid in relactation? "Got wet-nurse?"
Also on the La Leche League site is the article "LLLI Session 307: (Global Interactive Workshop) Breastfeeding in Emergency and Relief Situations." It discusses how best to support breastfeeding in emergency shelters and similar situations. I strongly suggest you check with your Red Cross or other organization that would run emergency shelters in your area, and make sure that the right person on the staff who can implement some of these suggestions gets a printout. Remind your local LLL leaders about this as well, as they won't necessarily have seen the article.
Co-sleeping in a family bed, widely practiced in many world cultures and in Western cultures before the advent of central heating, may be a solution that works well for keeping your family warm at night in the event of winter power failures. The constant warmth will help regulate your baby's temperature, and the constant contact will aid in night nursing and serve to stabilize breathing.
Do you or someone in your family need a nebulizer for asthma medications? Have you looked into a battery of some sort that could run the nebulizer if needed in a power failure? Follow this link for information we've gathered on battery back-ups for nebulizers, and some thoughts on how emergency situations could impact your asthma care.
2000NOW kids!
http://www.2000now.org/kids.htm
A local Y2k researcher, who is well acquainted with and sympathetic to many esoteric viewpoints, finds this site to be New Age gobbledygook at its worst. The link to "Y2k for kids and teens" led to a site with such bad javascript that it crashed our reviewer's browser. We are not impressed.
Y2k Youth Education Website
http://www.y2k.gov/youth
Utter bushwa, presented in chirpy fashion by our government. Mindless prattling, courtesy of our tax dollars. Oy vay. Your website reviewer for this section has tried to maintain a positive and constructive attitude about Y2k and its aspect on kids, and is deeply disturbed by this government website. Better you should read the Senate report at the "100 days to go" marker, which has been reformatted at http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001SFC and includes
some rather acid commentary on a Y2k bulletin board.
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