Few studies have approached children's behaviour during flood disasters, and none of them were in Italy. In this study we performed an analysis of flood‐risk perception in children aged between six and 14 years in three Italian regions characterised by diverse typologies of flood phenomena. To perform such an analysis, we collected data using a fictional story which, through identification with the protagonist, allowed for reliable and spontaneous answers from the young respondents. The studied communities were the pilot areas of the European research project LIFE PRIMES, “Preventing flooding RIsks by Making resilient communitiES.” The findings highlighted various expressed behaviours, with some differences between areas. The most unsafe expressed behaviour was “running outside.” Such a reaction becomes proportionally less important from younger to older respondents. The safest expressed behaviour was “reaching a high place,” which appears later in children and becomes more important from younger to older respondents. Not all communities demonstrated a good correlation between those two behaviours and age groups. The analysis suggests the need to implement educational and training activities specifically focused on children's needs during flood emergencies and that take into account the different geographical conditions in which children live. By using a fictional story simulating a flood emergency, this research analysed the flood‐risk perception of children aged between six and 14 years in nine geographical areas. Findings show that younger children thought the best response was escape or hiding, while older children used more sophisticated reasoning by linking their personal experience with territorial specificities and key characteristics of the flood phenomenon. Such results underline the importance of educational activities specifically designed for flood emergency in the different geographical settings in which children live.