How to Teach a Child Safety With Matches

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Teaching your child safety with matches is very important, and should be done at a fairly young age - as young as two years old. Children imititate adults, and if they see a parent, relative or friend lighting a cigarette or a candle, chances are they will want to do the same. The following steps are suggestions for teaching a child how to be safe around matches.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Explain to your child that you are going to go over some fire safety lessons, and that you are going to talk about safety with matches.
Step 2

Tell your child to find an adult if they see anyone playing with matches or lighters.
Step 3

Teach your child that if they find matches at school to give them to a teacher, and if they find matches at home, they must give them to a parent or other adult.
Step 4

Make sure matches are kept out of the hands of children. Put them in high places where tiny hands can't get to them - and be sure to tell kids that matches and lighters start fires and they are not toys to play with.
Step 5

Tell your child that only an adult can light matches for birthday candles.

Tips & Warnings

Stress fire safety to your children around various holidays, like the Fourth of July and the December holiday season, when matches are being used much more.
Teach your child to call 911 in an emergency. Explain to them that if they are home and the smoke alarm goes off, to get out of the house and go to a neighbors house to call 911.
Take a look at different Web sites that address fire safety. They have games, characters and fun facts for children that make learning about fire safety exciting.
Under no circumstances should a child play with matches.

Comments

sallyearls said

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on 5/15/2009 it may be extreme to others - but i have picked out the the least graphic of photos and showed my children (at ages 4 and 5) what happens due to fire and burn damage to people as well as buildings to teach them what im~proper handling of matches and lighters will do! They are always the first to hear the batteries in the smoke detector and tell us - making us VERY PROUD!!! We have also purchased the VOICE-recorded smoke detectors from ebay - (very inexpensive) making them feel more secure - and us as well!!!