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Teaching a child about fire safety is a serious thing to do, but it can be fun as well as educational. Holding mock fire drills and teaching them how to dial 911 are all meant to be educational, but often parents get irritated with young children who don't have success immediately.
The first thing a parent should do is make sure that a child understands that fire is bad. Be sure they know not to play with matches, candles, lighters, or flammable materials. These kinds of objects should be out of reach anyway, but children are very curious and often find their way to these items anyway.
Explain to your child that you want to go over the rules if you have a fire in your home. Make it a fun experience for your child by checking out books from your library. Read books together and then discuss what happened and what could have happened. Simply telling a child that fire is hot is not going to have an effect. You need to explain that fire is dangerous and that people can be burned by fire, especially to younger children.
When holding your mock fire drill, discuss the escape route in detail first. You can even draw a map of where your child should go from different areas of the home. After you've discussed what your child should do, have your fire alarm go off to signal that your child should begin. Help them along the way if they get off track. They need to remember to stay low to the ground and to always touch doors before opening them. Have a designated place outside that you all meet and enforce that once out of the house, no one goes back in for anything. Animals, toys, and games can all be replaced, people cannot.
One of the best ways to get through to children about the dangers fires pose is through example. Visit your local fire department, or visit a house that has recently had a damaging fire. (Be sure to call ahead to schedule visits with firefighters.) Seeing what firefighters do for a living, and seeing examples of what fire does to toys, clothes, and other possessions is often an eye-opener for both children and adults.
Teach your child to go to a neighbor's house to call for help, and try to enforce that though fire is scary, everyone needs to stay calm. The mission is to get out of the home safely. When teaching fire safety it is a good time to also teach a child how to dial 911. Be sure that the child understands that this number is only to be called when a person is hurt badly. It is best to stress that a child find a grown-up before calling, if possible.
You should always talk about fire safety around the Fourth of July to young children. Many children don't realize that, while fireworks are pretty to look at, they do deal with fire and can be harmful. Stress that adult supervision be present when playing with any type of fire.
A great lesson to teach young children is that no matter how prepared you are for fire, it is always unexpected. Have your child help you go through old toys and clothes and then deliver those objects to the Red Cross for fire victims. Understanding how fire affects people is one of the best lessons in teaching your child to understand that fire is dangerous.
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