The Premise
Most parents assume nothing will ever happen to their kid while they’re at school. Until it does.
If you’re a parent with a school age child, grab a copy of Calm in Chaos. It’s not one of those read once and shelve books. You’ll want to refer back to it again and again, especially when something happens and you’re trying to figure out what it all means.
Calm in Chaos is meant to help parents feel more prepared in case of an emergency or crisis situation at their child’s school. The author understands the importance of giving parents both the tools to get their child safely in (or out) of a crisis situation, as well as the confidence to stay calm for their children.
The Breakdown
The book is divided into 12 chapters that range from family preparedness and school safety plans, to active shooter situations, sex trafficking, illnesses/disease, online safety and more. Despite covering such a wide range of potentially scary topics, the author keeps Calm in Chaos focused, and never loses momentum.
My favorite chapters were those focused on preparedness. The author includes a lot of great information about staying calm in a crisis, as well as what reunification looks like from the parent perspective (basically, what do you do when you pull into that reunification parking lot). I also liked that the author talks about the importance of preparing not just logistically, but also emotionally and mentally. This chapter does a nice job helping parents understand the importance of preparation, not to eliminate fear, but to empower their children to still think and function in a potentially scary situation.
Other great take aways include learning about the school nurse, getting your 12 year old to develop an emergency plan she can follow on her own, learning to scan and read a situation (the author covers the Cooper Color Code, minus any military lingo), and how to talk to your child about sex trafficking. This is an issue many parents feel happens to other people’s kids… until it doesn’t.
The Verdict
There are a lot of great books out there on school preparedness/plans, but most of them seem to be written for school officials, administrators and emergency responders. Calm in Chaos is written for parents. The author does a great job translating school plans and protocols into language and ideas that make sense to parents, and giving parents ideas they can implement on their own, so they don’t feel helpless. The author also does a nice job emphasizing the importance of being prepared without making parents feel like they’re not doing enough. Highly recommended for any parent of a school age child.
About the Book
- Book: Calm in Chaos: A Modern Parent’s Guide to School Emergencies
- Author: Mark Linderman, CEM
- Publisher: Independently Published
- MSRP: $17 Paperback
- Pages: 302
- URL: amazon.com
- Rating: Thrive |
Survive|Die
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