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

Message to Educators

Each year there are more than 50,000 incidents involving household chemical products - more than half of these involve children. These incidents can cause injuries and illnesses, temporary and permanent disabilities, and in some cases, death.

Children are most at risk. For the 5 year-old who is curious and interested in experimentation, household chemical products in colourful containers are something new to try. A 9 year-old who wants to show he or she is grown up, may try to open and use household chemical products without supervision.

The purpose of this guide is to provide educators with resources to teach children about safety regarding household chemical products.

The STAY SAFE program has activities for children ages 5 to 9 years (Kindergarten to Grade 4). Activities are grouped by levels with a corresponding age range and grade level, and are suitable for use in existing curriculum on general home safety. As an educator you will be able to choose the most appropriate activities for your lessons.

At each age range, children display distinct learning characteristics that you may want to keep in mind as you plan your STAY SAFE program.

How can these injuries be prevented? Children need to learn to recognize the hazard symbols on household chemical products, and to STAY SAFE when they do see them. Like other safety programs, this information needs to be reinforced as children grow older, and as more products are introduced to the public.

That's where STAY SAFE fits in. Educators who use this program can help the children in your community STAY SAFE - at home, at school and at play. That's the goal of this program. The STAY SAFE activities in this guide are intended to reinforce hazard symbol recognition and the related safety messages to children. The fact sheets provide additional information to assist adults in creating a safer home environment for children.

This school aged education program repeats and builds on the information and activities contained in the pre-school STAY SAFE program. Children who attended day cares or similar establishments may have been taught the first messages in the STAY SAFE progressive program that teaches young children about the hazard symbols and chemical safety in the home.

Let's all STAY SAFE!

Health Canada

Kindergarten - Age 5-6 years

• can follow simple, stepped instructions and make comparisons
• prefers manipulative materials
• likes to imitate adults or other authority figures

Grade 1 - Age 6-7 years

• can anticipate and make basic assessments
• follows instructions and reacts well to praise
• enjoys puzzles, sorting, matching, classifying

Grade 2 - Age 7-8 years

• follows simple, constructive, stepped feedback
• requires examples and reasons for directions
• interesting in improving and developing skills

Grade 3 - Age 8-9 years

• needs positive feedback to help develop competencies
• can recall and retell stories, information
• starting to enjoy more competitive activities

Grade 4 - Age 9+ years

• challenges authority; requires reasons; interested in exceptions
• greater attention span to work on more complex tasks
• abstract thought continues to improve, but still needs concrete examples

For a more detailed description of learner characteristics see Appendix F.