Teaching Kids and Teens About Fire Safety

Fire safety is actually something that it typically emphasized while we are children. Obviously it is not only important for children to be educated early on about fires so that they know what to do in case of a fire, but so that they can carry with them those fire safety lessons into adulthood and hopefully have a life full of fire safety knowledge and positive experiences.

Teaching kids and teens about fire safety can be fun especially if you take a hands-on approach to the task. Fires can be good when they are properly contained and monitored. Fireplaces and barbeques are fine places to enjoy a fire, but remember that no matter the type of fire there is always a possibility that it could get out of control very quickly.

Teaching kids and teens about fire safety should involve starting with the basics about how to prevent a fire from occurring. Teach your children and teens to be able to spot dangerous situations where fire hazards exist. Talk about careful storage of matches and lighters. Teach about electrical fires that can be started by worn-out electrical cords or by having too many cords in a wall socket. It is a fire hazard to have candles burning unattended or to have blankets or other flammable objects by space heaters or hot lamps.

Encourage your children to put their skills to the test and examine their own home for fire safety hazards. If you want to make the task more challenging you can create mock hazards (never set up anything that could be potentially hazardous) around your house and see if your children are able to spot the danger.

Parental involvement in the teaching of kids and teens about fire safety is vital because your children should not be the ones who are responsible for fixing or correcting any hazardous situations that may be present in your home. After all, you do not want them getting hurt. Teach your children that if they see a fire hazard that they should notify you immediately and work with you to remedy the problem.

Parents can encourage their children to give them the reminders that adults often times forget when it comes to home fire safety. Teach your kids about checking smoke detectors regularly to make sure that they are in working order and do not need a battery change. If you do not have a smoke detector at least in every bedroom, make sure that you get one.

Plan a fire escape route and practice it. Your older kids can be put in charge of creating and executing fire alarm drills so that your family has an opportunity to practice the escape route and so that there is time to address any problems that may have become apparent during the drill. Remember that there should be two ways of leaving each room of your house (usually the door and the window). If you find that the window is too difficult to open while you are having a fire drill you know to address the problem by fixing the window ahead of time so that in the even of an actual emergency such vital components to the escape plan can be put into action. Another important part of an escape plan is having a safe place away from the house where the family should meet together once everyone has gotten out of the house.

The stop, drop and roll, rule is always an important one to remember as well as the fact that if there is smoke in the room you should stay low to the floor and try to get out of the house as fast and safely as possible.