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Preschooler's 911 Call Saves Mom's Life
Filed under: In The News, Amazing Kids
"My Mommy's sick. Can you please come over here?...Can you pick her up?"Those words from an "unusually calm" four-year-old Thornton, Colorado, boy to a 911 operator saved his mother's life after she collapsed while making him lunch.
Thomas "TJ" Roller called 911 and calmly told the dispatcher, "She's on the floor...She's on her stomach...She dropped her food." TJ also added that his mother, Jennifer Roller, couldn't speak and that, "I'm a kid."
Here's where we all need to listen up: "She told me whenever she gets sick ... call 911," says TJ. (Listen to TJ's call here.)
An emergency operator asked TJ to check if his mother was breathing, then to roll her on her back. After he answered a few questions, the boy asked him to come over again. As a reward, the heroic tot had the ride of his young life on a fire truck, courtesy of the emergency response crew that came to his mom's rescue.
"He's my little hero," Roller said. "I thank him every day."
How often do you talk to your children about what to do in an emergency? Experts say -- and TJ proves -- that parents shouldn't assume their toddlers are too young to learn how to call for help. These smart tips could save your life.
• Teach your child to use the house phone -- not the cell. Only a landline will alert dispatchers to your location. So if your child can't remember the address, help can still arrive.
• Explain that 911 a dispatcher ("the nice lady or man who will answer the phone") needs stay on the line with your child until help arrives; it's crucial that he doesn't hang up until told to do so. Plus, in a real emergency, it will help your child to hear a professionally calm voice.
• Make sure he can say (and spell) his first and last name. Dispatchers will use the child's name repeatedly as a way to stay engaged.
• Practice on an unplugged phone. You can play dispatcher and ask your child questions. Do it enough and your kid will be a pro in the event of a real emergency.
• Define what an emergency is. Use examples, such as a fire, a parent falling down, or a stranger entering your home. And if your child is unsure about what really is an emergency, tell him to listen to his gut feelings. There's a chance he may be wrong, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
For more tips on kids 911 safety, click here.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
3-06-2009 @ 11:47AM
megwriter said...Great steps in parenting. There is also a good book called It's Time to Call 911. The little ones can push the phone like buttons on the front of the book- 911 and then read the book about emergencies. It's a top seller in my parenting bookstore.http://pagesofparenting.com
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3-06-2009 @ 12:31PM
Mama said...The child is a blessing. My boiler started spewing steam the other night and I made it back upstairs as fast as I could (I'm disabled) , hit the boiler switch to the "off" postion and told my 8 and 13 year olds to put on their coats to go to our neighbors house. While I waited for them to get their coats on, I found the calendar with the boiler company's phone number on it and dialed 3 times before i got a voice instead of voice mail. By then the boiler had stopped spitting and puffing, though my heart was racing. The guy came by, fixed everything up in a matter of minutes and all was ifne. My 8 year old daughter slept in her coat that night anyway, just in case. This boy was way more calm than I was and there wasn't even anyone in danger in my house. Kudos to this brainy boy!!
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3-06-2009 @ 11:54AM
cheryl said...all I can say is wow! what a wonderful little boy and how great of a mother to teach him this! my son is 3 years old, will turn 4 in July, and I have been teaching him "phone manners". he'll talk to grandma and daddy when we, or they are away. only problem I forsee is that he's too anxious to say "ok, buh-bye!" and hang up the phone in the middle of a conversation, no matter how hard we work on keeping his attention. o'well, it is a learning process isn't it? good job TJ, and well done aol for reporting this story.
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3-06-2009 @ 12:15PM
SKW said...That little boy is wonderful. And bravo to the mother for teaching her son how to react like that. However, in the tips, it's not true that only landlines tell your location. All cell phones are now required to have GPS that automatically activates when you dail 911. Teach your child how to dail 911 on both.
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3-06-2009 @ 12:49PM
Heather said...This past october I had fallen into a coma while home alone with my 8 year old. Because of what is taught in school she was afraid to call 911. Just in case I was just sleeping. But she was smart enough to dial my husbands cell phone and he called 911.
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3-06-2009 @ 9:07PM
J. C. said...That is totally awesome! My prayers are with the family so that precious little boy never has to make a call like that again! :o)
Just wondering...did the firemen put the little boy in a carseat for "the ride of his life?" ;-)
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3-07-2009 @ 3:52PM
WV FirefighterEMS said...As a firefighter and EMT in my area, I have taught both my kids to call 911 and to know their name and address since they could talk.
It is heartwarming to know that the little guy did actually pick up that information and got the help his mom needed. Way to go T.J.
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3-07-2009 @ 4:00PM
Scotty said...The little boy's mother was likely having (a) a hypoglycemic attack or a (2) heart attack. Both are common to late stage diabetics. (a) is usually survivable, (b) is not. Smart mommy, brave little boy, very professional 911 & EMTs
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3-07-2009 @ 4:17PM
cjcfleur said...I too must add my hoot and hollar to the hero of the day. Also to the 911 folks. I had cause to use them late last summer when my house caught on fire. I have a cell phone, no land line anymore, all digital, and wireless and such. But the 911 lady was very professional and managed to keep me out of the house [my kitties were inside] and talked to me until the fire guys and police and every other agency was in my yard, which is another book by itself. LOL
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3-07-2009 @ 4:30PM
Anonymous said...Excuse me? Shae....name three middle school children who don't know their first name, last name and address?
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3-07-2009 @ 4:44PM
BOB said...SADLY, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF DISPATCHERS WOULD HAVE TREATED THIS AS A PRANK CALL AND NOT HANDLED!!!
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3-08-2009 @ 11:36AM
ccryder39 said...those kids in rhode island who disrupted thier school = could take a life lesson from this young name ===a hi five little mister T J you can capt. my team any time
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3-07-2009 @ 7:26PM
Lori Austill said...So what was wrong with the mother? Where is the rest of the story?
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3-07-2009 @ 8:21PM
ckj925 said...My 5 year old got a hold of my cell phone and called 911 when his daddy went to the dentist. He told them, "my daddy is going to be drilled in 10 minutes!" I found him in his room and asked who he was talking to. So embarassing.
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3-24-2009 @ 2:42AM
Stef said...This has got me thinking... How simple would it be to pre-record (loudly) a little message with your address, and teach younger kids to hold the device to the phone and press the button, in addition to the basic 911 lessons?
.. Get them to call your cell from the house phone to test how well you can hear it from your phone in the other room?
.. Just a thought. I live in a city where addresses can be multiple numbers in a row, ex an apartment could even be 115 13504 162nd St. That would be quite confusing for a young child to remember!
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