Three-year-old saves mom with 911 song

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts)
Jun 26th 2008 9:00AM

Filed under: Toddlers Preschoolers, Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Babies, Medical Conditions, In The News

Teaching your child to call 9-1-1 in an emergency is an important part of house safety rules. For Jessica Eaves, 24, however, it was crucial that her child know how to contact help on her own. Jessica has a medical condition called vasovogal syncope, which can cause her to faint.

Since her daughter Madelyn is only three, Jessica made up a song to teach her how to call for help on Jessica's Blackberry phone -- "9-1-1 green." That song made all the difference in the world last week when Jessica fainted and Madelyn was able to use the phone to call for an ambulance.

Madelyn called for help last year as well, when Jessica had taught her the song "green, green, green." By pushing the green button on the phone, Madelyn called the last number dialed and that adult called for help.I taught my older daughter to use the phone two years ago. She knew exactly two phone numbers -- her grandma's and 9-1-1. But when we changed phones last year, it didn't occur to me that she wouldn't know how to use the new ones. It was a good reminder for me that reviewing that important lesson now and then is a good idea.

If you're getting ready to teach your child how to call 9-1-1, About.com has some great tips for teaching them what to do beyond just dialing the numbers.