Stay Safe - A Safety Education Guide to Household Chemical Products for Children 5 to 9 years of age

A. About STAY SAFE

Did you know that, for 5 to 9 year-old children, more than 40% of injury-related emergency room visits are for injuries occurring at home? And of these, many are due to injuries from household chemical products?

Children, as they learn and develop, are eager to explore and take on new challenges. Inevitably this involves some risk - a risk we can help to minimize. Most injuries due to household chemical products can be prevented - first by storing hazardous products safely, and second by teaching children how to recognize hazardous products and what to do if they find these products, or if an emergency occurs. That's where you and the STAY SAFE program can make a difference.

STAY SAFE is an activity based awareness program suitable for 5 to 9 year-old children. Its purpose is to provide you, the educator/leader, with information and learning strategies that are easy to use in your program and at home. The activities are age appropriate, focusing on recognition, assessment and safe actions - the key to preventing injuries related to household chemical products.

STAY SAFE provides grade specific, ready-to-use learning activities with support materials, props and ideas for easy integration into your program. It contains:

• the latest information on household chemical product labelling and safe storage;
• teacher reviewed learning activities;
• at home activities for families to complete together;
• prevention tips for parents and care givers - especially important since most injuries with hazardous products happen at home;
• an appealing mascot named RADAR to help reinforce key safety messages.

STAY SAFE will help you teach children to:

• recognize and relate the dangers associated with each of the four hazard symbols;
• recognize the hazard symbols on containers they find in their environment, assess the situation and act appropriately;
• share this information with family and friends;
• understand that children and adults are often injured when household chemical products are not stored or used properly.

As you read through STAY SAFE you will find:

• the four consumer product hazard symbols and what they mean;
• the key safety messages for children to learn and remember;
• Grade appropriate activities for your program and for children to take home;
• important facts and figures on injuries to children due to household chemical products;
• why some household chemical products have different kinds of labels;
• a place to evaluate the program;
• references to learn more about home hazards and child safety.

Meet RADAR

To help you introduce the material in this education guide, meet RADAR the safety dog. He is the mascot for many of Health Canada's children's safety resources, including the Stay Safe program KIDS CARE.

RADAR appears on many of the activity sheets in the education guide, and can be used in a variety of ways as you introduce this program - as the narrator of a puppet play or the lead character in a safety story.

RADAR also acts as a visual cue and a reminder, drawing children's attention to STAY SAFE messages.

You will notice that RADAR's role changes from grade to grade to keep pace with the growth and maturity level of the children. At the earlier levels, RADAR acts as a coach and teacher for the children, reminding them what hazard symbols mean and reinforcing the STAY SAFE messages. At the later levels, RADAR becomes a friend to children as they learn about safety around household chemical products together. RADAR and the children are encouraged to solve puzzles, remember safety messages, make safe choices, and work as a team to help others STAY SAFE.