With all the potential dangers facing your family on a daily basis, it’s nice to know that there are some precautions you can take and guidance you can give that will help keep your children safe when disaster strikes. 

One of the biggest disasters that could affect your home and your family is fire. And with so many opportunities for a fire to be started within your home, fire safety is one of the most important safety skills your kids should learn throughout their childhood.

To help you in teaching this, here are three tips for teaching your kids about fire safety. 

Teach Your Children To Stay Away From Fire

One of the first things you should teach your children, starting from the time they’re just toddlers, is to stay away from fire and other hot items. 

Depending on what type of access your children have to fire or hot items at home, your strategy for teaching this will vary. For example, if you have a fireplace at home, you’ll want to be sure that you have a screen in place so your children can’t get to close to the flames. Additionally, the U.S. Fire Administration shares that you’ll also want to keep your children at least three feet away from anything that gets too hot, like space heaters, stovetops, candles, lighters, and matches. 

Create A Fire Plan

While preventing any kind of house fire from starting in the first place should be your priority, you and your family should have a plan in place for how to react if and when a fire does happen at home. Each home is different and will have a need a different plan so make sure you follow the right fire strategy advice when making this plan.

As part of your plan, the American Red Cross recommends that you speak to your kids about smoke alarms and what to do if they hear one go off when they’re at home. Your fire plan should also include where your family will meet once everyone clears the home and the rules that you never go back inside the house once a fire has started. 

Practice Proper Escape Techniques

Not only should you have a plan in place for your family to follow in the event of a fire, but you should also practice what to physically go if you need to use this fire plan.

According to Robin McClure, a contributor to Very Well Family, you and your family should physically practice things like opening windows, using ladders to escape your home, testing doors to see if they’re hot, and crawling on the ground to keep out of the smoke that might be filling your home. 

To help save the lives of your children in the event that a fire starts in your home, consider using the tips mentioned above to teach your children about fire safety.