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The Parent Times>
Fire Safety
May 1, 2010
THE PARENT TIMES
May 2010
FIRE SAFETY
From a young age you should teach your children about fire safety and what to do in case there is ever a fire in your home. Some recommend that you start the teach kids as young as 2 about fire safety.
In some communities, local fire departments come to the schools and teach kids about fire safety, what a fireman will look like and sound like in their gear and teach the kids about making a plan with your family.
Here are a couple of items they recommend parents should do and go over with their kids:
1. Discuss and plan a meeting place if a fire should occur;
2. Perform home fire drills; practice makes perfect;
3. Regularly check your smoke detectors to ensure they are
working;
4. Have emergency numbers posted and discuss 911 with your
children.
A few other things to remember. Kids remember simple and straight forward rules. Another important point is not to just teach your kids the rules, act them out. Kids learn things better hands on. For example, you can make a game out of making a fast escape out of each of the rooms in your home. Remember to do this game at night as well when it is dark as most of the deadly fires occur at night.
Of course you will always have to decide how much to teach your kids depending on their age. Remember, practice makes perfect. The more the kids talk about and hear fire safety rules and plans, the more likely they will be to remember them. Remind kids to NEVER hide and to always try to get OUTSIDE!
Sparky the Fire Dog
In Vancouver, the fire department has Sparky the fire dog. Here is a link for the website. http://www.sparky.org/ This website has an escape plan grid, a safety checklist and many more activities and games for your kids.
MOTHER’S DAY
Since Mother’s day is coming up, I thought I would write a little bit of its history and how it began. Mother’s day started centuries ago dating as far back as the ancient Greeks when they held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. It was first called, Mothering Sunday. At one point, Mothering Sunday was actually cancelled because of lack of time. Then in 1872, Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. This is a landmark in the history of Mother’s Day. Then in 1907, Anna M. Jarvis started a movement in Philadelphia to set up a national mother’s day. Eventually after gaining the support of prominent business men and hundreds of legislators, in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers. It then slowly gained popularity around the world.
Not all countries celebrate mother’s day on the second Sunday in May. Many countries that followed suit were Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium, just to name a few.
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
This is a great product. It is the Mommy’s Helper Stroller Strap. It attaches onto the stroller or buggy. This item is great for parents who have a child that NO longer wants to sit in the buggy and have a younger child. The safety strap ensures that your child is not able to go far from the buggy or run ahead too far. It is very simple to use and I think a great idea.
For a full description and price to purchase, check out my website at Mommy's Helper Stroller Strap.
*Please note that all tips are offered as suggestions only. While we have tried to provide you with some suggestions to help parents keep their kids safe, unfortunately we cannot think of everything and it is the responsibility of parents to ensure their children’s safety.
Check us out on Facebook (Childproofers BC), Twitter (Childproofersbc) and Blogspot (Child Safety BC) for regular updates. Links to these sites will be posted.
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/home.php?ref=home
Twitter - http://twitter.com/childproofersbc
Blogspot - http://childsafetybc.blogspot.com/
Erin Johnston
Child Safety Professionals http://www.childsafetyprofessionals.com/ChildproofersBC.html
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