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You know what they say about the weather in Indiana—if you don’t like it, wait five minutes. It will probably change. While that isn’t really the case, the Midwest has been known to have some unpredictable weather from time to time, including severe weather.
This creates a challenge for parents of younger children. How do you help them prepare for the unexpected arrival of severe weather without scaring them? Learning about the weather is important because it’s something that children physically encounter. It isn’t just an abstract concept.
We spoke with Director of Early Childhood Education Susan Michal at The Children’s Museum about tips to help you talk with your child about severe weather.
1. Be prepared. It’s important for grown-ups to be prepared for severe weather. Have a plan in place. Know where you are going to meet if you have to evacuate. Children take comfort in knowing what to do during poor weather. They are best prepared when their grown-ups are prepared.
2. Practice. Once you have your plan in place, share it with your family. It is reassuring and comforting to practice weather drills for thunder and lightning storms, ice storms, and tornadoes. It also helps to practice for other natural events like earthquakes and fire. Young children love to reenact what to do through dramatic play and role playing. It helps to practice what to do as a family.
3. Explore the science. After having a discussion about weather and practicing a drill, you could do a science experiment to help your child understand severe weather and other natural events. You could make a tornado in a bottle by following the steps in this blog post. This plastic brick science experiment can help your child understand earthquakes.
Visiting Wild Weather at The Children’s Museum provides opportunities to do all three of these steps. From tornadoes to lightning to hail, snowstorms, and hurricanes, Wild Weather gives you the opportunity to explore the power and wonder of severe weather in a safe space.
Wild Weather is included with museum admission and is open thru Jan. 10, 2021.
Wild Weather is developed and produced by Science North in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre.
