More needed for kids

Many preventative measures might seem like common sense for adults, but they could be brand-new bits of information for children. Since it never hurts for parents and grandparents to review safety, make teaching your children how to be safe a family activity. For some kids, it might be all the safety instruction they receive.

A 2007 survey by the Michael Cohen Group found that little, if any formal safety curriculum exists for children in kindergarten through second grade. Additionally, lessons about fire prevention and preparedness are the most needed, the survey determined. Children in this age group are unprepared for fire emergencies, and older children often lack the knowledge necessary to instruct their younger siblings or keep them safe in an emergency.

The survey made similar conclusions regarding kids and their lack of knowledge or disregard for safety around electrical appliances, wearing helmets for play on bikes, skates, inline skates and skateboards, and fire evacuation plans. Children surveyed also indicated they would not know what to do if someone else was in danger or trouble.

To help further foster awareness and understanding of safety in children, UL has expanded its public safety initiative with the assistance of The Walt Disney Company. Throughout 2008, UL and Disney will host more than 250 live, interactive Safety Smart® Super Challenge School Assemblies across the country.

"Providing reassuring, clear and confidence-building messages about preventing and dealing with unsafe situations is critical to help our children become empowered as they navigate daily life," said Barb Guthrie, UL Director of Consumer Affairs, who is liaison and leader of the Disney initiative. "We want to do it in a way that will not induce fear, but will retain a child's optimism in a world fit for discovery."

Also scheduled are hundreds of community safety events, as well as safety messages appearing on Disney.com, UL.com and through local Radio Disney stations' airwaves.

In addition, Disney Educational Productions has produced the first two in a series of UL-sponsored DVDs, "Wild About Safety: Timon and Pumbaa Safety Smart at Home!" and "Safety Smart Science with Bill Nye the Science Guy: Electricity."

Each DVD program helps students realize the importance of safety and learn a variety of ways to help themselves and others avoid injuries. It is available in 15 languages and includes a teacher guide outlining the learning objectives, classroom and take-home activities, exercises and reproducible handouts. For more information, visit our consumers section.