Miranda Bowman, 12, was going for a ride with her 63-year-old grandfather, when he told her he didn't feel well and asked her to continue talking to him because he was scared. Then he closed his eyes and he died -- with his foot on the accelerator. Bowman grabbed the wheel and drove the car to safety.
I can’t even imagine what was going through her mind.
This tragedy reminds me that even though we can't prevent something unexpected like this from happening to our children, maybe with a little planning, we can prepare our children for emergencies and teach them ways to get through these situations without too much damage. Teaching our kids to "take the wheel" in emergency situations just may save their lives.
Have you taught your children contingency plans in case of emergencies? This is probably a good idea for all parents to discuss with their children. Not that a child would normally be taught to drive a car at 12 years old just in case they needed to drive someone to the hospital or take the wheel, though maybe that’s not such a bad idea, now that I think about it. Maybe they should at least know the mechanics of driving; how the steering wheel, brake, and gas pedals work.
There are other situations that we hope never happen, but not teaching our kids how to react in the situation won’t keep them safe and could even harm them. For example, what if they were caught in a fire? What if a stranger approached them and tried to kidnap or touch them? What if there were intruders in the house? Would your child know what to do? I have spoken to my children about stranger danger, tornadoes, and fires, but I may need to get some more plans into place and maybe rethink some things. I’d never thought of my mother’s heart condition as a possible threat because she is fine with medicine. This story gave me something to consider.
What emergency contingency plans do you have in place with your children?
Image via Maxim34374/Flickr
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Comments 16
I don't think I would have even thought of grabbing the wheel at the age of 12. I think I would have just braced myself for the impact of the wreck that was sure to come. Kodos to that girl for thinking ahead and being calm enough in the face of the unknown. My kids are 6 and 1, and my 6 year old is mildly autistic so we are just now going over stranger danger, and i have plans to do a fire drill so he knows what to do incase of a fire.
My father and a close family friend taught me to operate a car before I was 10, granted, out in the country, it's easy to find big flat, harmless places to teach a kid to drive! I knew not to use the information unless it was an emergency, but I knew what to do! Golf carts are a GREAT way to teach driving basics without the horsepower of a full-size car. Good for this girl, but what a traumatic experience!
My daughter will be 5 tomorrow and knows her full name, her mom and dad's names, and our address. We're working on teaching her my cell phone number. I also plan on getting her in for CPR and first aid training at the youngest possible age and will work on preparing her for any kind of emergency. I feel that it's very important to teach your kids what to do if something happens. Knowledge is POWER. Not to mention that arming her with this information could potentially save someone's life. Too many parents don't trust their kids enough, or just don't think their kid can handle it, whatever. Are we, or are we not, raising the next generation? Do we want our children to go out in society with absolutely no idea how to conduct themselves in the event of an emergency?
Such a brave girl! And her parents and grandparents and aunts, uncles, older siblings/cousins have done a GREAT job raising that girl! As we know it takes a village to raise a child, and they are doing something right with her. She was there for her grandfather when he needed someone the most. She used amazing critical thinking skills to get herself somewhere safe and did it quick, fast, and in a hurry. AMAZING girl she is and probably is going to be an AMAZING woman and mother. She's quick on her feet. Praying for her family ♥
we have a riding lawnmower, we have taught all of our kids to drive it (bit easier than teaching them to drive a car) but the basic mechanics of it are there, we have also taught them how to drive the boat, and go carts.
Scary situation. Kudos for her for knowing what to do and not to panic. Glad her parents taught her well. Sad story tho.
smart girl I am glad she is ok