A survey of 1,000 parents shows 63% plan to take their children to Bonfire Night events this weekend – but have never talked to their kids about being safe near fireworks and sparklers.
The Fireman Sam brand and the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) have joined forces in a bid to get young children switched on to safety this Bonfire night, with the release of a set of new safety tips to help equip pre-schoolers and parents with the information needed to stay safe around fireworks, bonfires and flammable costumes on 5th November. The tips can be viewed in full at the end of this story.
CAPT is the UK’s leading charity working to reduce the number of children and young people killed, disabled or seriously injured in accidents. Working with the Fireman Sam TV show – the long-running animated children’s programme that teaches young ones important safety messages – the charity has created a set of Bonfire Night safety tips written using child-friendly language. These have been distributed to hundreds of pre-schoolers around the country through nursery partners.
The launch of the safety tips come on the back of new research commissioned by the Fireman Sam brand showing that six in 10 parents (63%) plan to take their children to Bonfire Night events this weekend – but have never talked to their kids about being safe near fireworks and sparklers. Research of 1,000 parents of kids aged 0-7 revealed 70% will be attending organised events, while 26% will set off their own fireworks.
Whilst research shows that teaching children about fire safety is a priority to 81% of parents, many don’t know where to find child-friendly information to help educate their kids. And 76% hope someone else will tell them how far back to stand from bonfires and 37% how to hold a sparkler.
The findings also come the same week as the launch of the 14th series of Fireman Sam, from Mattel Television and WildBrain, which started airing on Tuesday 1st November at 4.30pm on Cartoonito and teaches children important safety messages. Nearly all the parents surveyed (94%) agreed it is important that children’s characters such as those from the Fireman Sam TV show talk to children about Bonfire Night safety.
Jon Spalding, Mattel’s head of Consumer Products UK & Hard Lines, EMEA, said: “Bonfire Night can be a spectacular event for families to enjoy together, but these events also provide significant safety risks. We know that discussing fire safety is a huge priority for parents, but many don’t know where to access trusted information, so we hope the release of our tips with CAPT will help solve this, keeping everyone safe and having fun this 5th November.”
Katrina Phillips, CAPT’s chief executive, added: “Bonfire Night is magical. But with sparklers burning 16 times hotter than your kettle, they can badly burn a child. Many parents aren’t clear what to tell their children about staying safe on Bonfire Night or what to do if the worst happens. That’s why we’ve partnered with Fireman Sam to create some essential family safety tips to keep little ones safe.”
