In many countries, the tragedy of fire is one of the common causes of accidental injury and deaths. These tragedies are usually caused by playing with a heat source, generally, children that are under 10 years of age. Most often, children are fascinated with fire but because they are very inventive, they tend to play with matches and lighters. This is why the United States Fire Administration (USFA) encourages parents to teach their children about fire safety.
A 5 year old kid may not completely understand or remember what you have thought them, so it is important to explain to them more than once about the fire safety measures. You can simply tell your kids that fire is a tool, and not a toy. Children will always wonder about these things, so support your claims by telling them it is fast, hot, dark, and deadly. Parents should tell their children not to play with an object that causes fire such as lighters, matches, or lighted candles. If your house has electric cables within the reach of children, then patiently teach them not to pull any of those electric cables or fiddle with electrical appliances or sockets.
Parents and caregivers should teach the children the following fire safety tips.
Escape Plans
Parents should let their children understand that they need to get out of the building as quickly as possible in case of fire. Teach them not to be afraid of firefighters instead to get out quickly and call for help. This topic should also cover on the best possible areas to where they should go once they get out the burning house.
A home fire escape plan is needed in every home. Walk through your home and check all the possible exits and escape routes in case of fire. Make sure to have two ways to escape from each part of your home because the some of the exits may be blocked by the fire. If there are infants or older adults, make sure to assign a family member to assist them in the event of fire.
Visit a Fire Station
Most often, kids are very much scared with firefighters especially when they are wearing their full firefighter suits and gears. Visiting a fire station will help your kids to become familiar with how the firefighters look and understand what they do. To make them more comfortable with firefighters, try to create fire fighter hats and let them act as if they are firefighters.
Read Books
Children really love stories, so investing on a storybook that aims to teach children about fire safety is a good idea. You can find them in various stores such as “No Dragons for Tea: Fire Safety Kids (And Dragons)”, “Stop Drop and Roll (A Book About Fire Safety)”, “Fire! Fire! ”, and “Home Safety” (Adventures in the Roo World – Young Roo Series No.4).
Sing them a song
Aside from books, consider teaching children a fire escape song to help them remember easily the basic things they need to know about fire safety. Here are some of the favorite fire safety songs for children.
Wheels on the Fire Engine (by the tune of The Wheels on the Bus)
The wheels on the fire-engine go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the fire-engine go round and round
Round and round, round and round
All day long
The siren goes bee bar bee
The ladder goes up and down
The hose goes squirt and spray
All day long
Stop, Drop, and Roll (by the tune of The Farmer’s in the Dell)
Stop, Drop, and Roll
Stop, Drop, and Roll
If your clothes should catch a fire
Stop, Drop, and Roll
Fire Fighter (by the tune of “Frere Jacques”)
Fire fighter, fire fighter
You are brave, you are brave
Putting out the fires, putting out the fires
Lives you save, lives you save
Never Play with Matches (by the tune of “Frere Jacques”)
Never, never play with matches
If you do, if you do
You might burn your fingers, You might burn your fingers
That won’t do
That won’t do
Never, never play with matches
If you do, if you do
You could burn your house down, You could burn your house down
That won’t do
That won’t do
Practice the Drill
Understanding the escape plans may not be too easy to be absorbed a kid’s mind, so it is important to practice the drill. Practicing the home fire drills can help make sure that everyone is prepared to escape a fire. This activity should not be scary for kids, so you should discuss to them some advance idea about the drill.
Fall and Crawl
Let the children understand the importance of getting down low and crawling under the smoke. Getting low enables you to breathe better because the hot air rises.
Stop, Drop, and Roll
You teach your children to run and evacuate the place when they see fire on it. But tell your children to never run if their clothes catches fire instead teach them to stop and don’t panic. Let them drop to the ground and then roll until the fire is out. Remember to let them cover their face with their hands to prevent it from burning. Practice these drill in your home to ensure that everyone is prepared with these fire safety tips.
An important thing to consider is to make your home a safety place for your children. Consider some measures to keep the kids safe.
Always keep matches, lighters, and candles in a place where children couldn’t reach.
Don’t let your children play or leaver their toys near a fire or a heater.
Never leave your children alone in the kitchen. As much as you want them to teach cooking, still they are too young to be extra careful and not to mess up.
Turn off or unplug the electrical appliances when they are not being used.
Above all, don’t leave children alone in a room where there is a high risk of fire accident.