The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) has released some top tips on how children can stay safe this Halloween and Bonfire Night. Plus, we share some of the best child-friendly fireworks displays.
Every parent hopes that their child will never experience an accident on Bonfire Night or Halloween. And yet, every year the same horror stories of accidents involving sparklers, fireworks and flammable costumes resurface all over again. It’s important that we educate ourselves on fire safety, as well as our children.
Teaching children about fire safety is a priority to 81% parents, but many don’t know where to find child-friendly information to help educate their kids, so the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) has teamed up with the Fireman Sam™ brand in a bid to get young children switched on to safety on Bonfire night and beyond, 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.
Working with the Fireman Sam™ TV show – the long-running animated children’s programme that teaches young ones important safety messages – they have created a set of Bonfire night safety tips that are written using child-friendly language. These have been distributed to hundreds of pre-schoolers around the country through nursery partners.
Firework and Bonfire Safety Tips from Fireman Sam and the Child Accident Prevention Trust
- Fireworks are exciting, but they can be very dangerous. Listen to your grown-up about where is a safe place to stand.
- Keep your sparkly sparkler safely away from other people and don’t run with them.
- Wear your gloves when you hold sparklers and keep them away from your body.
- Once sparklers are finished, put them into a bucket of water, don’t pick them back up.
- Leave your dressing up clothes at home on fireworks night, wrap up warm instead.
- Stand at a safe distance from the bonfire and stay close to the grown-ups.
- Don’t be tempted to throw things into the bonfire or poke at it with sticks.
- If you’re going to a firework display, hold hands with your grown-up and stay with them all the time.
- Put toys and phones away when you’re out and about so you can focus on keeping safe and having fun!
- If you do catch your clothes on a flame, don’t panic – STOP, DROP, and ROLL:
STOP what you are doing.
DROP to the ground and cover your face with your hands.
ROLL over and over to put out the flames.
- Practice your STOP, DROP, and ROLL before fireworks night. Get your friends to try it, too!
Click here to download the Fireman Sam fire safety tips sheet
Halloween Costumes and Fire Safety
- Less flammable fabrics include nylon, polyester, wool and silk. Cheaper costumes will often be made of highly flammable fabrics such as cotton, rayon and acrylic, so before you hit the bargain stores, see what you have at home. You’d be surprised what you can make out of old clothes and sheets, and your children may enjoy getting a little creative!
- Whether it’s homemade or shop-bought, try to make sure that your child’s costume doesn’t have too many extra appendages or loose parts, as they will be more vulnerable to catching fire.
- Lots of costumes will have complicated zips and buttons, but try to ensure that your child is wearing a costume that can be easily slipped on and off. That way, if it does catch fire, your child can quickly pull off their costume and reduce their exposure to the flame.
- Halloween costumes rarely offer much warmth, so make sure that your child layers up underneath their costume. Not only will this keep them warm as they head off into the night, but it will also protect their skin from fire if their costume catches alight.
- It’s not just fire that’s a threat on Halloween – most of the time, children will go trick-or-treating wearing nothing but their costumes, which will often not provide any illumination or visibility in the dark night. To protect your children from road accidents, make sure that their costume is bright, colourful and illuminated. There are lots of costumes that can naturally incorporate this factor, so don’t worry about spoiling their outfit!
Things to Remember!
Despite all of our precautions, accidents can happen and it’s important that your child understands what to do in a fire-related emergency. Before Halloween and Bonfire Night, practice the Stop, Drop and Roll with your child so he or she can keep themselves safe if their costume catches alight.
- STOP what you are doing
- DROP to the ground and cover your face with your hands
- ROLL over and over to put out the flames
Best Baby-friendly Bonfire Night Fireworks Displays to Visit
We’ve rounded up a few great baby-friendly firework displays that offer reduced noise fireworks and a couple of drive-in options too! Don’t forget your noise-muffling headphones (like these) for baby just in case.
Barleylands Farm Park Drive-In Toddler Fireworks
Save your little ones from the cold and noise with the drive-in fireworks at Barleylands Farm Park in Essex! Throughout the evening you will be able to watch the entertainment from within your car, or in your allocated viewing area to the right of your vehicle. You can ‘tune in’ to the purpose-built radio station to hear the show played through your car. The event will be hosted by Essex’s top children’s entertainers Skittleman and BamBam!
Thursday 3rd, Friday 4th and Saturday 6th November | Gates open at 4:30pm | Book here
Epsom Fireworks Display
Head over to the Hook Road Arena in Epsom for a night of firework fun! There will be a low-noise children’s show at 6:30pm sponsored by Fennies Day Nursery, before the main show at 7.30pm. Ideal for the whole family, there will also be a fun fair with candyfloss and toffee apples too, plus lots more hot food and drink outlets.
Saturday 5th November | Gates open at 5:30pm | Book here
Beckenham Fireworks in the Park
Beckenham Fireworks in the Park is a family-friendly musical fireworks display and fun fair for Bonfire Night that has been running for over 70 years, with a quieter display at 6pm with fireworks for little ears and the main firework display at 7.45pm. There is also a fantastic array of food options, with 18 different stalls on offer. Plus, much of the proceeds go to locally selected charities and good causes.
Saturday 5th November | Gates open at 5:00pm | Book here
Wimbledon Park Musical Fireworks
Delight the little ones with pyrotechnic fire and light displays at Wimbledon Park this year. Alongside funfair rides and a variety of warming food and drink stalls at the street food village, your youngsters will be entertained for hours on end with the family-focussed ‘feel good’ pop music display or the main Kings and Queens themed fireworks show for older children on later in the evening.
Friday 4th November | Gates open at 5.15pm | Book here
