The region is unsettled. Flights are being disrupted. Parents are quietly asking themselves
questions they hoped they would never have to ask. If you are an expat family living in Dubai
right now, this guide is written specifically for you.

Let’s Acknowledge What’s Actually Happening

There is a particular kind of quiet stress that descends on expat households during periods of
regional conflict. On the surface, life in Dubai continues, schools are open, restaurants are full,
the skyline is as extraordinary as ever. But beneath that, many families are carrying a weight
that is hard to articulate: a low hum of anxiety about what is unfolding nearby, about whether
they should stay or go, about what their children are absorbing, and about whether their
household, including their nanny, is as prepared as it needs to be.

This article is not going to tell you that everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about.
You are intelligent adults and you deserve more than that. What we are going to do instead is
give you a clear, practical framework for making sure your family and your household are
genuinely prepared, so that whatever happens, you are not scrambling.

Dubai remains one of the most stable and well-protected cities in the region, and the UAE
government has consistently prioritised the safety of its residents. But stability is not the same
as certainty. And right now, certainty is in short supply across the Middle East.

A note before we begin: this guide is not political. It does not take sides, make
predictions, or speculate on outcomes. It is focused entirely on the practical wellbeing of
families with children, because that is what matters most right now.

The Conversations You Need to Have This Week

The single most important thing you can do right now is not to buy supplies or book flights. It
is to have three conversations that most families have been quietly avoiding.

Conversation 1: With Your Partner

You need to be aligned on your threshold for action. At what point would you consider
temporarily leaving? What would need to happen for you to make that call? Having this
conversation now, calmly, rationally, with a clear head, means you are not making it under
pressure in the middle of the night. Agree on your criteria. Write them down if it helps. Then
you do not have to keep having the conversation every time the news cycle shifts.

Conversation 2: With Your Nanny

Your nanny is central to your family’s emergency response capability, and she deserves to be
treated as such. She needs to know what your family’s plan is. She needs to know what you
expect of her if something happens and she cannot reach you. She needs to know that her own
wellbeing is part of your planning, not an afterthought.

Many employers avoid this conversation because they worry it will cause unnecessary anxiety,
or because it feels strange to discuss worst-case scenarios with an employee. But your nanny
is almost certainly already thinking about these things. A clear, honest conversation will
reassure her far more than silence will.

Conversation 3: With Your Children

We address this in depth in Article 3. For now, the most important thing to know is this: your
children are already picking up on the tension in the household, even if you have not said a
word. An age-appropriate conversation that acknowledges what is happening, calmly,
honestly, without dramatising, will do far more for their sense of security than pretending
nothing is different.

“Your children are already picking up on the tension in the household, even if you have
not said a word.”

Building Your Family’s Conflict-Ready Emergency Plan

An emergency plan for a family living in a region experiencing active conflict is different from
a general household safety plan. It needs to account for scenarios that may move quickly and
require decisions under pressure.

Your Family Emergency Plan, Do This Now

  • Agree on your departure threshold as a couple, what specific circumstances would trigger a decision to leave temporarily
  • Ensure every family member’s passport is current, accessible, and NOT locked in an office or safe deposit box you cannot reach quickly
  • Check your nanny’s passport expiry and visa status today, we cover this fully in Article 2
  • Identify two flight routes home, not one, and know which airlines are currently operating them
  • Register your family with your home country embassy in the UAE (most have online registration for nationals abroad)
  • Establish a clear emergency contact chain: who calls whom, in what order, if communications are disrupted
  • Keep a physical printed copy of all emergency contacts, do not rely solely on your phone
  • Know the location of your nearest hospital and your children’s blood types and any medical needs
  • Have access to enough emergency cash to cover at least 72 hours of unexpected expenses
  • Identify a trusted local contact, a friend or neighbour, who knows your plan and can assist if needed

Your Nanny’s Role in a Conflict-Adjacent Emergency

In a genuine emergency, your nanny may be the first, and for a period, the only, adult with
your children. This is not a frightening thought if you have prepared her well. It is a reassuring
one.

A well-briefed nanny who knows the household’s emergency plan, has the children’s key
information memorised, knows who to call and in what order, and has been trusted with the
family’s contingency thinking is an extraordinarily valuable asset in a crisis. She is also a
human being who is likely navigating her own fears, particularly if she has family in areas
closer to the conflict.

Brief her fully. Give her a printed emergency card she can keep in her bag. Make sure she
knows where the children’s passports are. And ask her, genuinely ask her, how she is doing.
The quality of care she provides your children during a stressful period is directly connected to
how supported and secure she feels herself.

What Your Nanny Should Know and Have Access To

  • Both parents’ phone numbers saved offline, not just in her phone
  • The children’s full names, dates of birth, and passport numbers
  • Any medical needs, allergies, or medications the children require
  • The address and phone number of the family’s preferred hospital
  • Your home country embassy emergency number
  • A clear instruction for what to do and where to go if she cannot reach you
  • The location of the children’s passports in the home
  • Your departure plan, does she travel with you, or stay? (Covered in Article 2)

Staying or Going: How to Think About This Decision

This is the question that is occupying the minds of many expat families right now, and there is
no universal right answer. What we can offer is a framework for thinking about it clearly.

The UAE government has not issued any evacuation advice, and Dubai’s emergency
infrastructure is robust. For the vast majority of families, the current situation does not require
immediate action. But ‘does not require immediate action’ is different from ‘requires no
planning.’

Think of your current preparedness work as building optionality. You are not deciding to
leave. You are making sure that if the situation changes, you can leave quickly, calmly, and
with everything your family needs. That is not panic. That is responsible parenting.

A Word on the Emotional Weight of All of This

Before we close this article, we want to acknowledge something that practical guides often
skip over: this is hard. Carrying the responsibility of keeping your children safe while
managing a job, a household, and your own fear is genuinely heavy. The fact that you are
reading this, thinking about these things, planning ahead, that is not anxiety. That is love
expressed as action.

Your children are lucky to have a parent who prepares. And your nanny is fortunate to work
for a family that treats her as a partner in that preparation, rather than an afterthought.