Kansas City Aupair Safety Meeting

Aupair Safety meeting                       

Kansas City had its March safety meeting Sunday March 11, at the Johnson County Communications center. This is a brand new facility housing a state of the art

9-1-1-call center.

14 Aupairs , the area director and her daughter showed up at the center at 1:30pm. We all met in the lobby and chatted for a while waiting for everyone to get there. Our tour started at 2pm. Heather Beabout, a former Aupair Care host mom is a Kansas deputy and she helped us facilitate the tour. We started the tour with a CPR refresher course given by Sergeant Brenda Gammell. She showed us adult, child and infant CPR and we learned what to do if someone was choking. After this Heather Beabout talked to the group of 9-1-1 calls and showed a short video. We were then able to simulate a 9-1-1 call with Heather. They had phones set up and an aupair would call 9-1-1 with a made up story and Heather would walk them through the call. She also let us know that if the aupair felt her English was not strong enough to ask for an interpreter, they can provide interpreters for most languages. We then concluded with a tour of the 9-1-1-call center and we were able to see the officers at work answering 9-1-1 calls.

            The second part of the tour was at the Olathe fire department. We drove a few miles to the fire station where we got a tour of the building and then a tour of the fire truck where the girls were able to climb in the truck and look at all the gear. Some of the girls were also allowed to try on all the gear that the firemen wear from boots, to Oxygen tank and axes. This seemed to be a high light of the tour. At the end we got a quick lesson in what to do in case of a fire in the home. Always know two ways out of the house, teach small children to stand by an open window and throw their toys out so the firemen can locate them and also have a fire escape plan written out in a visible place in the home.

            The girls enjoyed this meeting and felt like they learned a lot.

Fire Safety and Children

Control Kids' Access to Fire

• Keep all matches and lighters out of the hands of children. If possible, keep these sources of fire in locked drawers. Consider buying only "child-proof" lighters—but be aware that no product is completely child-proof.
• Children as young as two years old can strike matches and start fires.
• Never leave children unattended near operating stoves or burning candles, even for a short time.
• Teach children not to pick up matches or lighters they may find. Instead, they should tell an adult immediately.
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• Fire Safety at Home
• Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, especially near sleeping areas.
• Smoke alarms should be kept clean of dust by regularly vacuuming over and around them.
• Replace batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year. And replace the entire unit after ten years of service, or as the manufacturer recommends.
• Families should plan and practice two escape routes from each room of their home.
• Regularly inspect the home for fire hazards.
• If there are adults in the home who smoke, they should use heavy safety ashtrays and discard ashes and butts in metal, sealed containers or the toilet.
• If there is a fireplace in the home, the entire opening should be covered by a heavy safety screen. The chimney should be professionally inspected and cleaned annually.
• Children should cook only under the supervision of an adult or with their permission.
• Children should never play with electrical cords or electrical sockets. They should ask adults for help plugging in equipment.
• Children should stay away from radiators and heaters, and they should be taught that these devices are not toys. Young children in particular must be taught not to play with or drop anything into space heaters. Nothing should be placed or stored on top of a heater.
• Pots on stovetops should always have their handles turned toward the center of the stove, where children cannot reach up and pull or knock them off.
• Teach children to turn off lights, stereos, TVs, and other electrical equipment when they are finished using them. In the case of room heaters, children should ask an adult to turn it off when the room will be empty.
• Children should never touch matches, lighters, or candles. If they find matches or lighters within reach, they should ask an adult to move them
• No one should stand too close to a fireplace or wood stove or other types of heaters, where clothes could easily catch fire.

Warning Signs

• Evidence of fire play, such as burnt matches, clothes, paper, toys, etc., or if you smell smoke in hair or clothes.
• Inappropriate interest in firefighters and/or fire trucks, such as frequent, improper calls to the fire department or 9-1-1.
• Child asks or tries to light cigarettes or candles for you or other adults.
• Matches or lighters in their pockets or rooms.

Control Curiosity

• Talk to your child or students in a calm, assured manner about fire safety.
• Consider visiting a fire station if children are very interested in firefighting and/or fire trucks or ask a firefighter to visit your classroom. Have the firefighter talk about his/her job and the dangers of fire.
• For parents: Create opportunities for learning about fire safety at home. For example, when you cook, let your child get the pot holder for you; when you use the fireplace, let your child bring you the wood or tools; if you use candles, let the child check to make sure the candle holder fits snugly; and when you change or test the batteries in your smoke alarms, ask the child to help you.

What to Do if You Suspect Your Student/Child Is Playing with Fire?

• Talk to the child about his or her actions. Explain again that fire is a tool for use only by adults, and that it is very dangerous for children.
• Many schools, fire departments and law enforcement agencies have programs for children who are inappropriately interested in fire or who have set fires.