An emergency in the home can be a scary thing if you’re not prepared for it, and even more so for young children.

The BC Ambulance Service says it’s important to teach children how to dial 911, and more importantly what to say to dispatch, if an adult has a medical problem.

Michal Fedeles with the BC Ambulance Service says even children as young as four can learn what to do.

He says children are very curious when they see ambulances, and you can use that as a starting point.

“Young children easily understand what the purpose of an ambulance is, so I think a natural extension of that is how do you get that help, how do you call? Call 911. Here’s the phone, let’s play with it. Let’s have a conversation.”

Fedeles says using fun role-play can teach a child what he or she needs to do without making it scary.