Few things perfect a camping trip like a crackling campfire. Unfortunately, campfires are the single largest source of children's camping-related injuries. Teach children campfire safety rules in order to reduce the risk of injury and increase campfire enjoyment for everyone.
Statistics
According to the Dayton Children's Medical Center, 74 percent of all children's camping injuries are campfire-related. The National Institutes of Health note that most campfire injuries sustained by children are the result of children walking or falling into a fire or its hot coals. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Injury Prevention Center estimates that campfire burn victims spend an average of nine days in the hospital for each severe injury.
Preparation
Avoid children's campfire injuries by preparing the campfire site with safety in mind. Clear the area in which the fire is to be lit down to the bare soil. Clear an area four feet wide around the campfire in the same manner. Use rocks or a metal fire ring to contain the campfire. Have a bucket of water and a shovel ready and waiting beside the campfire before it is lit. Finally, make sure the children are not wearing loose-fitting clothing and that long hair is tied back while they are in the fire area.
Prevention
To prevent mishaps while the campfire is burning, teach children never to run inside the clear area around the campfire, whether a fire is burning or not. Supervise kids at all times while they're near the campfire. Teach them to lay sticks on the fire, never to throw them. If the family wants to roast hot dogs or marshmallows over the fire, teach kids to watch their food carefully and never to wave it in the air if it catches fire. Finally, teach children in advance how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire.
Education
Help kids understand that campfire safety rules make sense, and that they exist for everyone's benefit. For example, talk about why having a water bucket or fire extinguisher handy is a good idea, or describe to kids why you should never throw wood onto a fire. You can also ask older kids to offer safety suggestions of their own and to set reasonable fire safety rules.
Safe Extinguishing
Even the youngest children can help put out a campfire safely. Dumping a bucket of water directly onto a campfire may result in explosions from pockets of gas or hot air trapped under the soaked ashes. Instead of dumping the water bucket onto the fire to extinguish it, have kids help you pick up handfuls of water and scatter them onto the fire. Older kids can stir the ashes with a stick and hold their hands out to see whether any hot coals are left.
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