Have you noticed burned toys popping up around your house? Are there missing lighters from the kitchen that are typically only used for birthday candles?  Perhaps, you have caught your child lighting matches in the bathroom trash can. These could be signs that your child might be a fire starter.

According to the Burn Institute, “nearly 34% of the victims of child-set fires are the children themselves and playing with fire is the leading cause of death in residential fires for young children.”  Additionally, “juveniles account for more than 50% of all arson arrests in the United States”.

Here are some tips from the Burn Institute for teaching your child not to play with fire.

1. Educate the child that fire is not a toy, is dangerous, and kill people.
2. Supervise children at all times- almost all fires start when children are unsupervised.
3. If an older child is curious about matches, show them the proper way to use them and explain the importance of being supervised by an adult.

For additional tips and more information about why children set fires, please visit the Burn Institute’s website.

If you think your child may be a fire starter, please contact your child’s physician or a mental health counselor.  It is important to get help before your child hurts himself or herself or even others.

Fire Safety For All is dedicated to providing fire safety tips like these to help prevent fires and fire-related deaths and injuries.  If you have a fire safety tip you’d like to share, please email editor@firesafetyforall.com.