24/7 Emergency Service
Teaching Your Kids About Fire Safety So It’s Not Scary | SERVPRO® of Hayward
6/12/2023 (Permalink)
SERVPRO of Hayward is here for you and your family if you experience a fire in your home or business.
Having children is incredibly rewarding, but it is hard work! You are responsible for teaching them about the world and encouraging creativity and curiosity about the world around them. It is also your job to keep them safe, and that can sometimes be hard to do without overwhelming your kids or scaring them with the facts.
Fire safety is an incredibly important concept to teach your children, but house fires in general are scary situations, no matter if you are 55 or 5 years old.
By introducing fire-safe concepts in an encouraging environment, you can increase your child’s likelihood of responding correctly in an emergency situation.
Kids learn through experience, and it can be hard for them to understand consequences until they see the effects. Discuss how fire starts and how it spreads, and walk them through every area of your home that produces flame and have a discussion about safe practices around each of them, like your stove or bonfire pit.
You should also explain that matches and lighters are never toys to be played with and that if they ever find one of these around the house, they should bring it to you directly. House fires can start with a single smoldering match and can easily consume an entire house.
It can also be scary for your kids to see an authority figure in uniform, so try to expose them to images of police officers and firefighters often. Consider taking advantage of any local community events that have meet and greets or interactive play so your children can reinforce this concept of friendly heroes.
Teach them that in the event of a fire, these people are only here to help! Explain to them what a firefighter’s job is and to trust them to get you out during an actual emergency. Practice calling out together and yelling your child’s name, and make it a contest to see who can army crawl through their bedroom the fastest.
Every family should have an emergency exit plan for their home, and you should involve your children in its creation. You can keep it lighthearted and make a game if you want! Let your kids try to find the fastest way out of every room in your house and draw a diagram together.
You should also explain how your windows work so that your children know how to open them in an emergency. This is incredibly important information during a fire, but can also be dangerous knowledge to a curious child. Teach them that using the window is only a last resort and should never be used as a toy.
Finally, come up with an outdoor meeting place that you can gather at that is far enough away from your home. Once your plan is finalized, practice together at least twice a year and make sure your children understand how to dial 911 once they are outside.
Fires can cause widespread damage. Call us for a thorough and efficient restoration.