There are so many things that could happen that could leave you stranded. In the modern world, the majority of those things aren't that severe, like getting a flat tire and not having a spare or a jack, your vehicle running out of fuel or breaking down. Maybe your water is turned off for two days due to a water line break, electricity is out, things of that nature. There are many things that constitute an emergency, making things more difficult than what people are used to dealing with. Real disasters are few but when they do happen, there is no one to come to your immediate aid. You should always have something to fall back on to partially sustain your way of life until things can return to normal. If you are like me and a few others, then you live that way regardless, having the loss of a utility is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. If you are single things are always easier because you don't have to worry about anyone except for yourself. When you have a family, that is different. You have more many more things to take into consideration, especially if you have young children. The biggest obstacle you need to be able to overcome is having food. The human adult can go for over a month without food, as long they have water. You will lose a lot of weight and be somewhat malnourshed but otherwise you will be ok, especially if you are in good shape. However, being in top physical condition can have it's draw backs though, when you have a very low body fat percentage, then you don't have as much of a potential energy reserve as you would if you had a a higher body fat percentage. For someone in good health and in good physical shape, your body fat percentage should be somewhere around 14-18%. That is not overweight, overweight is in the mid twenties and up. Taking care of yourself physically certainly makes a difference in the long run as far as your health is concerned in any situation.

Make a kit, keep it up. Read the post Family Disaster Supplies Kit that Wiz posted just below this one. You can never have too much when it comes to your family. Remember, having a healthy state of mind is the first thing you need to survive any situation. Don't freak out, it will only make things worse. You are going to have to be the one that everyone else in your family leans on when/if something happens. Make sure you are ready. There are many books on the subject and there are a lot of people here that can answer any question about it and if not then someone here will find the answer you are looking for.

Darth