I love the concept of having a certain month designated for something like Fire Prevention. I mean, on the one hand: Yes! Good! Let’s raise awareness and make sure people have fire safety plans and all of those good things. On the other hand: Don’t you want to prevent fires all year ’round?
But I guess I’m quibbling.
If you haven’t already talked about fire safety with your kids, now might be a good time to do so. We’ve come a long way since the days of “Stop, Drop, and Roll” being the extent of a kid’s fire safety training. (Though I’m pretty sure that’s still good advice.) Don’t avoid discussing what to do in the event of a house fire with your child for fear of scaring him—it’s important that he know what to do so that he’ll be less scared when it counts.
Need some help approaching the topic with your child? No worries; there’s plenty of resources at the ready:
- Scholastic has an entire array of lesson materials for every level, dealing with fire safety.
- KidsCast Radio has a short podcast on fire safety suitable for the whole family.
- My Home Fire Drill offers some great resources, including the new Help Mikey Make It Out game for kids.
- Of course, don’t forget to go visit Sparky the Fire Dog!
However you choose to make sure your family is prepared, start with changing the batteries in your home’s smoke detectors. It’s one easy way to keep everyone safe.
