Emergency numbers for kids are best learned on a calm, ordinary day, long before they are ever needed. This page teaches your child one number, the one for your country, and, just as important, when to use it. Your child chooses a country, hears the number in Hindi and English, practises it on a toy phone that cannot call anyone, and then sorts everyday situations: is this a big emergency, or is it something to tell a grown-up?
This page never dials anything. The keypad is a toy. There are no phone links, and nothing your child taps can make a call. Please practise the real number together, on a real phone that you hold, only as a pretend game.
Emergency numbers by country
The game reads your browser's region to choose a country, and you can change it with the country menu. These are the main numbers it teaches:
| Country | Main emergency number | Also useful |
|---|---|---|
| India | 112 (police, fire, ambulance) | Childline 1098, free help for children |
| USA and Canada | 911 | - |
| United Kingdom | 999 | 112 also works |
| European Union | 112 | Works in every EU country |
| UAE | 999 (police) | 998 for an ambulance |
| Australia | 000 (triple zero) | - |
| New Zealand | 111 | - |
| Singapore | 999 (police) | 995 for an ambulance or fire |
Numbers can change and local services differ, so please check your own local emergency number before teaching it. Teach your child just one main number; for India that is 112.
What is an emergency? Explaining it to a child
Young children need a simple rule. We say: an emergency is when someone is badly hurt or in danger right now, and no grown-up can help. In the game Golu says "We use this number only for a big emergency, like a fire, or when someone is badly hurt" ("यह नंबर हम सिर्फ़ बड़ी मुसीबत में मिलाते हैं।").
- Big emergency (call): there is fire and smoke; a grown-up has fallen and will not wake up; a grown-up is very sick and nobody else is home.
- Tell a grown-up instead: a scraped knee, a lost balloon, feeling hungry, a broken toy.
- Tell a safe helper: if your child is lost in a shop or crowd, stay where they are and tell a shopkeeper at the counter, a police officer, or a mother with children.
How to use the game
My number
A big number card shows your country's emergency number and a short spoken line such as "In India, the emergency number is one, one, two." For India the card also shows Childline 1098. Below is the toy phone. Golu asks your child to tap the digits in order; each correct digit is spoken, and a wrong digit simply gets a hint, then a glow on the right key. When the whole number is typed, your child gets praise and a marble.
Who can help?
Picture cards show calm, everyday situations. Your child chooses between Call the emergency number 📞 and Tell a grown-up 🧑, and Golu explains the answer. The situations are chosen to be clear and never frightening.
How to practise with your child
- Say it like a song. "One, one, two" or "nine, one, one" has a rhythm. Clap it together.
- Pretend play. Use a toy phone. You play the helper: "Hello, what is the emergency? Where do you live?" This is the part children find hardest.
- Know the home address. From about age 5, practise the house name or number, street and area. Keep it written on a card at home.
- Know a grown-up's phone number. Sing it to a tune. Write it on a card in your child's bag, but not on the outside of clothes or bags where strangers can read it.
- Show where the phone is. Teach your child how to unlock your phone's emergency call screen, which on most phones works without the passcode. Do this together, without calling.
- Practise often, briefly. A two-minute pretend call once a month keeps it fresh.
Tell your child clearly: it is never wrong to call if they truly think someone is in danger, and they will not be in trouble. Also explain that calling for fun takes helpers away from people who need them.
What to expect by age
| Age | Realistic goal |
|---|---|
| 3-4 years | Knows their own name and a parent's name; knows to tell a grown-up when something is wrong. |
| 4-5 years | Says the emergency number; can tell a big emergency from a small problem in simple cases. |
| 5-6 years | Says the emergency number and a parent's phone number; knows the area or street they live in; can act out a pretend call. |
Keeping it calm, not scary
Children learn safety best when they feel capable, not afraid. Use a steady, matter-of-fact voice, like teaching them to wash hands. Focus on the helpers who come: police, fire fighters and ambulance crews. If your child asks worried questions, answer briefly and honestly, then move to something ordinary. Anxious children may prefer to just learn the number without the situations mode. Children with autism or speech delay can practise with a picture card showing a phone and the three digits. If something your child says worries you about their safety, in India contact Childline 1098 or 112, or your local child helpline, and talk to your child's doctor.
Related pages
Continue with safety rules for kids, traffic lights for kids and community helpers such as the police officer and fire fighter. For big feelings, try emotions for kids and calm down activities.
