Children's mischief with fire is a great misfortune

One of the causes of fires is children's mischief with fire.

But before we begin our conversation, dear parents, try to honestly answer some questions for yourselves. Have you ever left your child home alone? How long was the child home alone? An hour, half an hour, twenty minutes? Tell me, do you know that if a fire suddenly starts, even a few minutes will be enough for a child to die? It is unlikely that any parent has thought about this. As a rule, we are absolutely sure that this will not happen to me and all moralizing conversations are not for me.

That is why we appeal to you again and again, dear parents, and try not just to give examples from life, but to reach everyone. You teach your children to be polite, care about their health, and want them to grow up smart and developed. But teaching them to observe safety rules is the most important task, because a child's life depends on it.

Why do fires occur due to children's mischief with fire? Examining each case of a child's death, one realizes that the tragedies were accompanied by ordinary everyday circumstances - parents went to work, to the store, to neighbors, or were engaged in household chores in the yard. In other words, children were left unsupervised. And then the irreparable and cruel result of parental negligence: the death of a child.

Children often imitate the actions of adults in their games. The desire for independence is especially evident when a child is left alone. And one cannot be sure that a child, left alone at home, will not decide to play with a box of matches, will not want to set paper on fire, will not be interested in the operation of household appliances, of which there are plenty in every apartment.

Therefore, before leaving home, it is necessary to entrust the supervision of the child to older children or to one of the adults. To prevent the child from getting bored, they should be given a task: suggest a game topic, select the necessary toys. It is especially dangerous to leave children alone in locked apartments or rooms. In case of fire, they will not be able to get out of the burning premises on their own. In addition, escaping from fire and smoke, children usually hide in closets, under beds, tables, in room corners. Finding children in a developing fire situation is not an easy task.

Skills of careful handling of fire must be instilled in children starting from 4-5 years of age. One must strive for the child to realize that matches are not a toy, and fire is not fun, so that they form an impression of fire as a severe disaster for people.

Preschool and primary school children, especially boys, like to use matches and flammable objects in their games. Children lack life experience, and therefore cannot foresee the consequences of their actions. The most common games among children are those involving making bonfires. Places for making bonfires are chosen accordingly - away from parental eyes - in house attics, sheds, basements, outbuildings, near haystacks. While the fire is small, the child observes what is happening; as soon as the fire takes on frightening dimensions, which happens within a few minutes, the natural reaction is fright, and then the desire to hide. Fearing parental anger and punishment, some children run away and hide elsewhere. Most, however, covering their faces with their hands in fear, remain forever in the fiery trap.

Children suffer from fire due to their unpreparedness. A child does not know how to behave in case of a fire, how to act, who to ask for help, and most importantly, how to escape. And adults are primarily to blame for this. Proper upbringing of children in the family, instilling in them skills of careful handling of fire, and organizing their leisure time are the key to preventing fires and preventing child injuries. Children should be taught the rules of safe handling of fire, not just told what is allowed and what is not. Unfortunately, in families, teaching children fire safety measures is most often limited to prohibitive shouts: "Don't touch the matches, put the box back!" "Don't turn on the electric stove!" "Don't go near the gas stove!" But children in everyday life have to, and this is quite natural, use gas and electric stoves, other electrical appliances (TV, iron, etc.) - everything that can cause a fire. Therefore, when communicating with children, the emphasis should be not on prohibitions, but on explanations.

Where and how a child spends their leisure time, who they are friends with, what games they are interested in - these issues should be a subject of constant parental attention.

Once again, we draw parents' attention to the fact that children should not just be "protected from fire": do not leave them alone unsupervised, do not allow them to play with matches and electrical appliances. It is necessary to teach children the rules for handling fire sources and actions in case of fire.

Measures to prevent fires from children's mischief: do not leave matches, lighters in plain sight and do not allow children to buy matches, cigarettes. Monitor children's pastime and do not leave children unsupervised. Do not entrust small children with monitoring heating stoves and heating appliances, or using gas appliances. Learn your home address and phone number with your child so that they can call emergency services for help if necessary. Write down emergency numbers on a piece of paper next to the phone and explain to your child under what circumstances they can be used.