Talking about the dangers of fires can be scary for kids. But with the right approach, you can involve them & even get them excited about fire safety

If your little ones are old enough to learn about fire safety, finding the right way to teach them can be tough.

Talking with children about matters of life and death is bound to be tricky. But if you want them to absorb and retain the information, it’s important to avoid scaring them whenever possible.

And with the tips we’ll explore below, you can do just that. They’ll help you foster curiosity and encourage a fun learning experience that will stick with them for years.

Turn to Fun Fire Safety Books & Activities

A great place to start is to build a library of resources you can use to teach them in an approachable way. Books, interactive activities, and other things that meet them on their level so they can learn about all things fire safety—fire trucks, firefighters, safety risks, etc.

The fun thing about books on fire safety is that they often feature likable mascots, which make the topic a lot less frightening and easier to digest.

Take Them to Your Local Fire Station Open House

What better way for them to learn than to get some firsthand, hands-on experience? Give your local fire station a call and ask when they hold their open houses. Some stations have a couple a year, while others offer open hours every day.

A trip to the station will be a fun and unforgettable experience for your little one, and you can even turn it into a yearly thing they can look forward to. There, they’ll have the chance to talk to and learn from professional firefighters face-to-face and see the vehicles and gear they use up close.

Firefighters are trained to speak to children about the importance of fire safety, and that facetime will help foster their curiosity and inspire courage to keep learning.

Get Them Involved in Your Fire Safety Plan

It’s up to you to create a fire safety plan for your home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enlist the help of your little firefighter to iron out some of the details.

A good plan should include:

• At least two evacuation routes for each room in the house.
• Meeting spots outside the home.
• Steps to prevent fires in the home.

And guiding your child through the process of creating a plan like this can be a valuable learning experience. 

Ask their opinion on safe exit routes and how to reduce fire risk. It’ll help solidify what they’ve learned about fire safety and boost their confidence.

Reinforce Your Fire Safety Plan With Regular Practice

When a fire breaks out, even if it’s small, it can be terrifying and overwhelming for children. That’s why it’s so important to practice your fire safety plan at least a couple times a year. 

This should include calling 911, using “stop, drop, and roll” in case their clothes catch fire, moving safely when there’s smoke, testing doorknobs, evacuation routes, and meeting spots. 

In the chaos of a fire, it’s not uncommon for children to find a spot they think is safe, like underneath a bed or in a closet. But when you practice your fire safety plan with them consistently, you help them develop the muscle memory they need to get themselves to safety in the chaos of a fire.

Support Them During Playtime

Most kids love dressing up as their favorite careers—astronauts, police officers, firefighters, etc. But role play can be a lot more than just playtime.

When your little one pulls out the toy fire truck and firefighter helmet, encourage them and join in if possible. Act out fire safety scenarios with them and allow them to put what they’ve learned into “practice.”

As silly as it might seem, fighting and escaping from imaginary fires will turn fire safety into an exciting activity and spark their curiosity to learn more.

You might find they become more excited about fire safety in the weeks or months after dressing up as a firefighter for Halloween or going to a fire station open house. If that’s the case, make the most of it while it lasts and give them the space and support they need to have fun with it.

This, combined with the other tips we discussed, will provide your kid with a safe, comfortable, and not-so-scary environment to learn about fire safety.