Do you have a critical information binder to leave not only for your pets but for your children too?
I recently had a client who was having surgery and was leaving her pets in the care of some friends. She left extensive instructions about what her pets eat, what they are allergic to, who their vets are, their medical history and current issues, and any quirks they have such as a favorite toy or special sleeping place.
It dawned on me that we sometimes treat our pets better than our own children!
How many parents leave instructions like this when they leave their children in the care of another person? It doesn’t matter whether you’re going out for the evening and leaving your children with a babysitter or going away for a week and leaving your children with their grandparents, it’s a good idea to keep a binder handy with all of the important information.
But what should you put in the binder? Here’s some information that will get you started:
- Each child’s full name, date of birth, and social security number.
- Any allergies (these should be in large, red lettering) to foods, medicines, soaps, or anything else.
- Name and phone number of pediatricians and other doctors seen regularly.
- Any recent or chronic illnesses.
- Name, dosage, and location of any medications for each child—including children’s aspirin.
- Name of each child’s teacher and grade at school.
- Name of people allowed to visit the child, and especially the names of anyone you do not want to visit your child.
- Photocopies of the front and back of any health insurance or dental insurance cards.
- Copy of emergency guardianship proxy document.
- Copy of your Last Will and Testament. Hopefully, this document details who the long-term guardians of your children will be if something were to happen to both parents.
- Recent pictures of each child.
While you may know this information like the back of your hand, the people who are watching your children won’t, especially in a crisis.
By using a binder to store this information, you can add and change information as needed. You may think that saving this information online might be the best way to store this data, but a binder, as opposed to a computer document, is easily accessible and can be grabbed as you are running out the door.
For further assistance on what to include in your binder, please contact our office at (978) 269-4485 and we’ll be happy to help assist you.