play safe! be safe!

Workshop Objectives

Segment 1: The frequency of children's fireplay and firesetting

Objectives:

Participants will develop an understanding of the risk of fire and burn injuries to preschool children and the preschool child's role in starting these fires.
Participants will develop an understanding of the importance of fire safety education for this age group.

Format: Lecture, discussion, slides.
Description: Using national statistics gathered by the National Fire Protection Agency, the workshop explores the extent of children's fireplay. Participants develop an understanding of the number of fires started by children each year, and the deaths, injuries and property loss resulting from these fires. They also come to understand the particular vulnerability of preschool children; a vulnerability resulting both from their unexpectedly high rate of fireplay and their inappropriate response to high risk fire situations.

Segment 2: The preschool child's understanding of fire

Objectives: Participants will develop an understanding of the children's perspective of fire and the children's limited cognitive ability to understand how fire spreads.
Format: Lecture, discussion, slides.
Description: The workshop describes the intrinsic aspects of fire that children and adults find fascinating. It also investigates how children's experiences with and observations of fire lead to a profound misunderstanding of the potential danger. A review of preschool children's cognitive skills, based primarily on the work of Jean Piaget, describes the limits of what children of this age can be expected to learn, even with optimal fire safety education. Preschool children lack the cognitive skills to benefit from traditional fire safety education.

Segment 3: Teaching preschool children safety skills

Objectives: Participants will learn the importance of teaching preschool children specific fire safety skills and the role of practice and positive reinforcement.
Format: Lecture, discussion, slides.
Description: The workshop reviews the most common, yet inevitably ineffective techniques most adults use to teach children safety. Research from adult behavior change programs is used to document the inherent flaws in these traditional approaches. The workshop presents an alternative approach based on teaching specific skills and behaviors and then rewarding those behaviors. Techniques to enhance the children's acquisition of the relevant skills, primarily modeling, are also reviewed.

Segment 4: Fire prevention for preschool children

Objectives:

Participants will be able to identify the four fire safety skills most important to preschool children. These include (1) not to pick up ignition materials (matches and lighters are grown up tools), (2) go to the firefighter, (3) stop, drop and roll and (4) crawl low under smoke.
Participants will understand the correct implementation of these skills and how best to teach them.

Format: Lecture, discussion, slides, videotape
Description: Four specific fire safety and fire prevention skills appropriate for preschool children are identified and reviewed. Materials designed to teach and reinforce those skills are provided and reviewed.

Segment 5: Involving families in fire safety

Objectives: Participants will learn specific techniques to enhance parental involvement in the teaching and reinforcement of the four basic lessons.
Format: Lecture, discussion, slides
Description: The critical role of the family in providing a safe environment and in reinforcing the lessons being taught to the children is also reviewed. Specific parental responsibilities are identified as are strategies designed to encourage parents to actively participate in fire safety. Specific materials to facilitate family involvement will be provided.

Segment 6: The evaluation of the play safe! be safe! program

Objectives: Participants will evaluate the success of this approach in teaching the four fire safety skills described.
Format: Lecture, discussion, slides
Description: A strategy for evaluating preschool safety programs is described and the results of the evaluation of the play safe! be safe! program are presented. Relevant evidence will be provided for their use.

NOTE: We do not request that participants hold their questions until the end. Questions are entertained throughout the presentation to facilitate discussion.

"I think the video is very well done and will hold the interest of 3-5 year olds. I like the various examples of games for the teachers to reinforce ideas from the video. I think the workshop is well done and very clearly presented. The 3 hours went by very quickly."
Pat, childcare professional, Grand Rapids, MI

"I liked the concept of getting children involved in learning about fire safety through games and videos. Teachers and educators in fire prevention need to work simultaneously with each other to make this effort work effectively."
Fire Department, Dallas, TX

"Wish every childcare provider could participate! Can't wait to share all info received with my center and staff."
Rachel, childcare professional, Boise, ID