BREAKING NEWS: Illinois Tornado. It was a quiet Saturday evening of pizza and TV with my children when the screen went black, followed by an ear-piercing, high-pitched tone. The National Weather Service Emergency Alert System interrupted The Incredibles, announcing a severe thunderstorm/tornado warning for three nearby counties in Illinois. Instantly, they sat up with worry in their eyes as they asked, “Is the tornado coming here?”

I grabbed my SolarLink FR360 weather radio, gave it a crank and listened to the warning anew. Spotters confirmed a large twister contained within a violent band of thunderstorms south-east of house.

My son asked me, “Dad, what happens in a tornado? What should we do?” For the rest of the evening we “staged” a tornado drill. Obviously, tornado preparedness is no joke but role playing “as if” a violent storm was imminent quelled nerves and ingrained the proper skills for a future emergency.

We grabbed our Eton radio, our pillows and my Tactical 5.11 flash light, turned off all the lights and headed for a first floor inner bathroom. Each time our practice drills got a bit faster and smoother; by our 3rd and 4th run we were having fun and their initial fears were gone. My daughter suggested that we leave a deck of UNO cards in “the bathroom drawer incase we ever get stuck in here.”

Practicing (for adults) and playing preparedness with future survival experts is a great way to spend a Saturday night. Killing the lights, working as a team and planing for the unthinkable makes everyone calm and safer. You’re never too young for Mind-Ups.