There are so many things that we need to teach our kids to keep them safe it can be mind boggling. Now with the internet its just one more added concern for putting safety factors into play. What we sometimes forget or ends way down the priority list is fire safety. It often ends at teaching them not to play with matches or lighters, but we need to expand it beyond this.

Most of the rooms in our homes have windows that can be used for escape if necessary. One room that often doesn’t though is the media rooms. Kids want to be in a room where there are no distractions including light as it can interfere with their video game playing. It can also pose a danger. In rooms that have no windows there should be two doors to provide an escape if necessary.

We have become very security conscious and ensure that our windows have good locking mechanisms on them. Check to see if your youngster is capable of opening up every window in each room that they may spend time in. It could be that the window has become struck. These are important exits in the case of fire.

You may be thinking this isn’t necessary for second floor windows as the drop would be too dangerous. What you should have in place here is portable ladders. It is not just enough to have them, but practice sessions should be set up so the young ones are comfortable using them.

More often than not when an individual has to escape from a fire they are doing it blindly. Run a training session with everyone in the family on how to feel their way around a room and find the exit blindfolded.

If a fire breaks out panic sets in. A youngster may be gripped by the fear of such a situation. Make up a song that relates to escaping from a fire, and this may help them to recall the safety measures that you are instilling in them now.

Test their knowledge on smoke detectors. Sometimes when there has been an overly sensitive detector going off, the kids get used to this and may tend to ignore it if a real fire were to break out. Make it a rule that whenever the kids hear the alarm they must vacate the house according to plan, even if they think it is another false alarm.

Enforce the fact that once they have exited the house under no circumstances are they to come back in. They may be fearful if they don’t see other family members once they themselves have escaped and may out of fear and instinct want to go back in to find them.

Everything you know about fire safety must be instructed to the kids. If you feel that you really don’t know enough about it yourself, then now is the time to learn and pass it on!