Here is the fifth installment of ideas for incorporating health programming into your overall library programming strategy from Health and Wellness Resource Center. Keep looking for us on the first of each month to find programming ideas for three months out. Still working on spring programming? See March: National Nutrition Month, April: Autism Awareness Month, and May: Healthy Vision Month.
June is National Home Safety Month. According to Safe Kids USA, although unintentional injury deaths of children have significantly decreased in the United States since the late 1980s, thousands of children still die every year from accidents including, but not limited to, falls, fires and burns, bicycle accidents, car accidents and drownings. In fact accidents are the most common cause of deaths in children ages 1 to 14 — more common than deaths by all childhood diseases combined, and the vast majority of these accidents happen at home. Furthermore, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unintentional injuries are the most common cause of death for people ages 1 to 44.
Most home safety issues are preventable, however, and fortunately, promoting National Home Safety Month in June at your library will be easy with these free resources:
- Quick and Easy: printable coloring pages, puzzles, games, activity booklets, bookmarks, and educational materials for children and adults
- Featured Resources: books, free information, and organizations to contact
- Book Club: book and movie discussion group ideas and resources
- Tie Ins: to traditional library programming
- Community Resources: local home safety resources
- Publicity Resources: web banners and buttons, press releases, Twitter tweets, and more
- Fun Stuff: fun, interactive links
Quick and Easy
Printable Coloring Pages, Puzzles, Games, Activity Booklets, Bookmarks, and Educational Materials for Children and Adults:
From Safe Kids USA:
- Fire Safety Sequence Game – a game to help young children learn about smoke alarms and how to escape a fire (bilingual – in English and Spanish).
- Find the Right Helmet activity sheet.
- Pedestrian Safety word search and activity sheet.
- Fire Safety Specialist Training Chart As you measure your child’s growth, help them become “Fire Safety Specialists.”
From the US Fire Administration:
- Sesame Street Fire Safety Station – easy puzzles and coloring pages
- Coloring Pages – nine coloring pages, each with a fire safety tip
- Printable Fire Safety Matching Game – with pictures from the coloring pages
- Let’s Have Fun with Fire Safety: Marty and Jett’s Activity Book – eighteen pages of fire safety fun
- Marty and Jett’s Crossword Puzzles – two levels of easy crossword puzzles with answers
- Marty and Jett’s Word Searches – two levels of easy word searches with answers
- Is Your Home Fire Safe? door knob hanger and game. Use the checklist to find all 11 fire hazards and all fire safety devices?
- Fire Escape Plan Maze (bilingual – in Spanish and English)
- Fire Escape Plan Worksheet (bilingual – in both Spanish and English)
- Junior Fire Marshall Quiz
From the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):
- My Fire Safety Inspection Checklist. Kids! Become an “Official” Fire Safety Inspector.
- Sparky the Fire Dog Origami – a beginning paper folding project
- Cool to Do. This month you can print the scene and stickers to add, including a message about fire safety in winter.
- Coloring Pages:
- Learn Sign Language and Discover the Secret Code for an online game from the NFPA.
- Write a Sparky Fire Safety Poem worksheet.
- Safety Information Card
- More Fun Activities and Printables from the NFPA.
Quick and Easy for Adults:
- Emergency Contact Card from the Red Cross
- Emergency Supply Checklist from US Homeland Security
- Be Red Cross Ready checklist
- Personalized Home Safety Checklist from the Home Safety Council
- Fire Escape Plan Grid from the U.S. Fire Administration
Featured Resources
Books, Links to Information, and Organizations to Contact:
Books for Children and Adults
Home Safety Reference Information Links
- What are the safety laws in my state? Federal and state firework, seatbelt, lead standard regulations and much more at Safe Kids USA.
- Help! I need some quick safety statistics. Safety fact sheets from Safe Kids USA
- Where can I find in depth studies on home safety issues? In-depth research reports such as “Distracted Drivers in School Zones” and ” Trends in Unintentional Childhood Injury Mortality and Parental Views on Child Safety” from Safe Kids USA
- Where can I find government statistics and research reports on injury prevention and control? WISQARSTM (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) is an interactive database system that provides customized reports of injury-related data.
- I heard something about a safety recall. Can you find me more information? Another great resource from Safe Kids USA
Organizations to Contact
Free information and resources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): National Center for Injury Prevention & Control
- Home Safety Council
- National Fire Protection Association
- Safe Kids USA: Preventing Injuries, at Home, at Play, and on the Way.
- U.S. Fire Administration – Citizen Information
Book Club
Observe National Home Safety Month this June by choosing this Oprah Book Club pick for your adult book club:
Map of the World by Jame Hamilton. In the space of a few minutes, a tragic accident occurs, and a woman’s life is changed forever. This page-turner highlights how fast an accident can happen and also portrays what happens when a mob mentality takes over. The movie adaptation starred Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore. Discussion Guide
Tie Ins
June celebrates Father’s Day! You can bring together National Home Safety Month and Father’s Day with cool ideas:
- Show the kids at the library how to send free Sparky the Fire Dog father’s day e-card to their dads from the National Fire Protection Association
- Host a “Dad and Me” breakfast or video game day alongside a Keep Your Community Safe program with these free, easy to use toolkits from the NFPA
Does your library run or host a literacy program?
- Download the Home Safety Literacy Project‘s free home safety education materials, including an introductory video, leader’s guide, teacher’s manual, and low literacy level teaching tools in both English and Spanish.
Community Resources
Find a professional to speak at your library, or information resources here:
- Safe Kids USA: Find your state safety coalition representative for child safety information or local injury prevention events.
- Car Seat Check-Up: Find a Safe Kids USA car seat check-up event in your area.
Publicity Resources
Use this free material alongside your library’s June programming information – newsletter, blog, posters, or flyers – to promote both your library’s programs and home safety month.
- Press Releases from Safe Kids USA to add to your library’s newsletter, website or blog
- Badges and Buttons from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Injury Center
- “Latest News From the CDC’s Injury Center” widget to add to your site
- “Protect the Ones You Love: Home Injuries are Preventable” Media Outreach Guide from the CDC
- Home Safety Month 2011 Toolkit from healthfinder.gov includes:
- Sample media or Newsletter and/or Press Release to customize
- Tweets to send out from your library’s Twitter page
- Tips on planning a national health observance
- Home Safety Month Badge to add to your library’s website or blog
- United States Fire Administration campaign materials to download or order (for free):
- Public Service Announcements
- Install. Inspect. Protect. Smoke Alarms Save Lives.
- Smoking & Home Fires
- Prepare. Practice. Prevent the Unthinkable. A Parents’ Guide to Fire Safety for Babies and Toddlers
- Prevent Fire. Save Lives. A Fire Safety Campaign for People 50-Plus
Fun Stuff
Goof off at the reference desk and amaze your friends on Twitter . . . OR add some fun to a library program, your library website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed:
- Hazard House: There are eight fire hazards in the room. Can you find all of them? from the U.S. Fire Administration for Kids website
- Sparky the Fire Dog fun and games from the National Fire Protection Association:
- Sparky’s Match Game. Play an online matching game, but if the fire alarm sounds go outside!
- Crack the Code Game. Three different skill levels of code breaking fun.
- Safe with Sparky Game.
- Sparky the Fire Dog e-cards for every occasion.
- Interactive Fire Truck Fun and Games.
- Stay Fire Smart Game with Uh-Ohs. Can you find and test all of the smoke detectors?
- Sparky’s Risk Watch Arcade
