Babies, children and pets: the extras the basic kit forgets

The government's Be Ready checklist includes baby supplies and pet food, but a line each. The people who actually run a household know those lines carry the most weight. This guide fills them in.

Babies

• Ready-to-feed formula for three daysSterile in the carton, no boiling needed, fine at room temperature. Four to five 200 ml cartons a day for a young baby.
• Sterilised bottles and teats, sealed, or disposable bottlesPre-sterilised disposable bottles exist and are ideal for the kit. Cold-water sterilising tablets work without power.
• Nappies, wipes and nappy bagsAround seven a day for three days, in the size they will be in six months, not the size they are now.
• Baby food pouches and snacks for weaned babiesPouches need no heating. Pack the ones they already like.
• Extra layers, a sleeping bag or blanket, a hatBabies lose heat fast. Layers, not thick duvets, and check their chest or back feels warm, not hot.
• Infant paracetamol, teething gel, nappy cream, thermometerPlus a measuring syringe and their red book or vaccination record photographed.
• A sling or carrierHands free in the dark, and essential if you have to leave on foot.

Children

Children cope with almost anything if the adults are calm and there is something to do. Plan for boredom, routine and reassurance rather than survival.

• Screen-free entertainmentA pack of cards, a couple of books, colouring, a board game, a favourite soft toy. Glow sticks are magical to a five-year-old.
• Food they will actually eat coldCereal bars, crackers, tinned fruit, long-life milk, the yoghurt pouches that do not need a fridge, a few treats.
• Their own torchA wind-up or cheap LED torch each. Control over the dark is half the battle.
• Warm clothes, hats and a blanket eachStored in the kit so you are not searching wardrobes by torchlight.
• A card with their name, address and your numbersIn their coat pocket or school bag. Teach older children the numbers by heart.

What to teach them

1. Address and one phone number

   By heart. Practise it as a game; most children have it in a week.

2. How to call 999, and when

   Fire, someone badly hurt, someone who will not wake up. Not for a power cut.

3. Where the kit and the torches are

   Let them help pack it. Children who have handled the kit are calmer when it is needed.

4. The meeting point

   If you ever have to leave the house, where do we go? See the household plan.

5. School's plan

   Make sure the school has your current numbers, and ask what their emergency procedure is for collection.

The Staywise website from the UK emergency services has free, age-appropriate resources that make this easy and not frightening.

Pets

• Three days of food and a litre of water a dayDry food keeps best. Tins or pouches need a spoon and a bin bag. Bowls that travel.
• Carrier, lead, harness, muzzle if neededKept with the grab bag, not in the loft. A cat that will not go in a carrier under normal conditions will not go in during a flood.
• Microchip number, vaccination record, vet's number, a photoIn the document folder. Kennels and some rest centres require vaccination proof.
• Any medication, and something familiarA blanket that smells of home, a chew, a favourite toy.
• Litter and a tray, poo bagsCats kept indoors for days need a tray even if they normally go out.
• A place they could goA friend or relative outside your immediate area who would take them for a few days. Agree it now.

Carriers, collapsible bowls and ready-to-feed formula are on the recommended kit page. None of the links on this site currently earn us a commission; if that changes we will say so.