911

No, because I teach the kids at that age they are not allowed to touch the phone. I don't let the kids touch the phone until they are in kindergarten and their class is learning about calling 9-1-1. It all comes together and works well at that time because what you're doing is reinforcing the teacher and their program.

I would not assume a 3 yo would "not go with any strangers". Are you afraid if she does you want her to somehow be able to call for help? I too think 3 is too young. I would wait until she can clearly communicate and knows her own phone number and address. Maybe stop at the local PD and ask their advice, they would know for sure. Good luck.

I wouldn't yet... I know that if I were to spend any time teaching my 3 yo DD a special phone number, she would want to practice it when Mommy isn't looking...

Plus, at this age she really isn't able to truly understand a real emergency is. My brother called 911 once when we were young (he was 5, I was 4), because we were taught to call if someone was bleeding REALLY bad and really hurt... Well, I stubbed my toe and peeled the toenail off. BIG pain, and lots of blood... It fit the criteria, but really wasn't 911 worthy. (My mom was next door doing laundry... It really freaked her out to see an ambulance pull into her drive! Lol.)

You are awesome for thinking this way. I am not sure as Doris Day said I would teach 911 yet. However, is there a certain reason you are thinking about this????

Best.

Too early, in my view. I think you need to wait until she's older...
JMO

A child can't really understand the concept of emergencies and 9-1-1 at LEAST until they can understand and remember their address, phone #, parents' names, etc.
I suggest you not leave your child alone until she is able to fully understand and grasp these concepts.

3 seems young and at that age, they do sometimes call 911 when you don't need them to. In some areas, parents pay a fine if it happens more than a couple times.
You can teach about "community helpers" in general first. Usually, there are short videos and kids' books that introduce the concept. At three, my younger daughter was more interested in the vet and crossing guard than first responders.

Well it used to be easy, you had the number written down by the land line. Even a two year old could match the numbers. I guess just write it down on a note card and put it somewhere, perhaps where you charge your phone. Tell them it is the emergency number, call for fire, someone injured....not when you are angry at mom because they will come even if you hang up quickly....not that one of my kids did that!

Cops thought I was nuts because I was still mad and told my daughter, its for you! She was six, she knew better! They did scare the shite out of her. Never did it again.

My grandson was about 3yo when he was watching a "rescue heros" movie where the boy called 911 when his house caught on fire. He asked alot of questions about what an emergency was & practiced on his toy phone. I bought him the same book as Heather C. He loved it. He showed it to a friend's daddy who is also a deputy. His comment was if he was ready to ask about it, then he was ready to learn about it. That book is still in his bookcase. He is almost 8. About going with strangers, we did different situations. I was very surprised at some of the answers. Puppies lost, mommy needs you to come home now, free candy or ice cream, or even if a stranger asked you to come & talk to them. 20/20 did a show on this & the results were scarry !!! The more they know, the better it is. Good luck

You can call the police non-emergency line and they will tell you what you need to know. They did a presentation at my son's daycare for the older 3/younger 4 year olds. They needed to know their address, their own name, and how to say what was wrong. Not sure what else they did as I was only there for part of the presentation.

Gail Gibbons has lots of great books on Rescue and emergency. My kids know all about calling 911 for fires, etc. because of my son's obsession with firemen and police. Check out age appropriate books on firemen and police.

With that said, i agree with the others. 3 is too young, but 4 is right around the corner, so you may as well get a head start.

My daughter has a book about when to call 911. It has a little "phone" in it so you can practice pushing the buttons. She knows what an emergency is and when to call, but I don't think she would know to push talk first on the cordless and she does still mix up 9 and 6 so who knows!!! She is 4 by the way. I think we started reading the book when she was 3.