Having an emergency of any kind with your child can be nerve wracking. It doesn’t matter if it’s a simple matter of running late to a party, having an accident in the park, needing emergency dental procedures or a trip to the ER; when it’s a kid, it’s a bigger deal than if it was an adult. It’s important to know how to handle these things in case something does happen. Let’s use emergency dental care as the example throughout this article but remember these tips can be applied to pretty much any emergency. Here’s how to handle an emergency with your child.

Keep your own emotions in check.
Children feed off of their parents’ emotions. If you are panicking because of something that happened to your child then they are going to freak out to. For example, if your child is jumping on a trampoline and falls off, cutting their lip on the way down, they may be perfectly okay. Mouths bleed a lot so there will likely be a lot of blood but possible not a lot of pain. However, if you start crying and yelling and rushing around for emergency phone numbers, your kid is going to get scared. Remaining calm and in control will help the child to realize that they are safe and everything is going to be alright.

Arm yourself with knowledge.
Being fully informed yourself is important. There are too many people out there that think they know everything and when something happens, you can be sure that they will give you all of their opinions and ideas and suggestions. You need to make sure that you have done your own research and are in touch with your child’s dentist or doctor depending on the type of emergency. If you already have a good idea of how things should go, you’ll know when a suggestion sounds off. Everyone’s an expert so make sure you know what you are doing before you start listening to other people.

Reassure your child’s expectations.
Your child is likely going to be very scared if they are heading in for dental emergency surgery or something similar. Especially if they have never been through anything like this before. Emergency surgery is usually preceded by a painful experience which makes the surgery necessary so your child will probably be upset. Reassure them that you will be by their side and that everything is going to be okay. It’s a good idea to see the same dentist all the time and make sure that your children like them. This way, when an emergency happens, you can tell them who they are going to be seeing and they will relax, knowing that they like and trust the person that is going to be taking care of them.

Always be prepared.
Try to be prepared as much as you can be. Of course, you can’t plan for everything but carrying around a first aid kit in your purse or car is always a good idea. Along with diapers and wipes and changes of clothes, hot and cold compresses, band aids and other supplies can come in handy. Especially if you have young boys, they can tend to be very adventurous and you might find your self using these things a little more than you want to.

Help your children to be prepared.
It’s also good to prepare your children. While you want them to explore and be adventurous, it’s good to teach them to be cautious as well. This will prepare them should they need emergency dental services. They’ll appreciate your calm demeanor even if it was because they weren’t being careful.

Whether it’s a wisdom tooth extraction or any other type of emergency oral surgery, it’s important that your child know that they will be well taken care of and that nothing is really wrong. Emergency dental situations can be scary because they are very painful. Keep this in mind and make sure that you do not assume that your child is being over dramatic. Having a problem in your mouth can make it difficult to eat, speak or even move when also inhibits sleep and everything else that a child tries to do.