Power outage!

[mamaof4]

In the same vein as weather issues- what do you do when the power goes out? Do you close? Play pioneer?

[sunnydays]

I've never had the power go out for more than a few hours, but if it happened in winter and we had no heat and it was loing enough that we got cold and it was dark etc, then I may have to close, but otherwise I would just live with it and we'd have cold lunch!

[playfelt]

If power goes out we just cope as best we can. Chances are at least some of my parents would be dealing with the same issues at their house. I normally wait until parents drop off and then tell them how we plan to cope - sometimes they go home but most will leave their child and say call me if it gets bad - meaning too cold. Food is crackers, cheese, cold meats, dry cereal - I confirm at the door who is allowed peanut butter. There is no sense in closing because even if I wake to the power out it can be a matter a minutes or hours before it comes back on. If there has been a severe storm overnight then I usually have a few parents that just stay home so that helps too. As for play we do a lot of active stuff, play upstairs since there would be no light in the basement but my diningroom is also an upstairs playroom. Make sure the kids are wearing socks and running shoes, a shirt and a sweater and they will be fine as they play hard. For naps add a warmer layer under them such as an old comforter to lay on instead of just the mat and sheet and cover them over the top with an extra layer too. If you have hot water bottles they can go a long way to adding warmth to the beds or plug in your heating pad and make each bed warm for the kids to get in - warm and then pull up the cover and it will stay that way till all beds are warmed. If they get in warm and go to sleep they generally produce extra body heat and stay warm. Have never hada the house go cold enough that it would be considered dangerous. In the event of a severe storm most families would be home too and have their kids.