Playing with fire (1947)

when children are at home they get up to all sorts of tricks to satisfy their insatiable curiosity what is it what can be done with it will it bounce what makes it tick what's inside everything is new and all novelty is an adventure to them the staircase in the back door lead to strange and undiscovered worlds and although it may seem just plain mischief to the grown-ups this desire to find out what it's all about is as healthy as an appetite but mothers can't always be there to watch over them to keep them out of mischief to warn them of trouble and anticipate danger they've got their own work cut out around the house as it is probably more than one child to look after anyway where can the children play quite often it's either in the house or out in the street and mothers have got their shopping to do or perhaps work away from home so the children will get up to their monkey business and after will come the explanations and scoldings then they will go off again sometimes getting into trouble sometimes getting out of it but often in danger every year in england and wales an average of 600 children are killed at home or die from simple preventable accidents in their own houses every year twelve thousand children are hurt badly enough to be admitted to hospital many of them recover with bodies permanently damaged some are hopelessly crippled this is the cost of their own curiosity of a parent's lack of foresight because children don't know when a game can become dangerous all these deaths and accidents from burns and skulls from playing with fire i never dreamt a thing like this could happen watch pat kenny three years old was sitting up a table waiting for her tea and playing with a spoon mrs carnier was waiting for the tea to draw and rocking her youngest child she poured the tea out and was bringing the cup over to the table mary johnson four years old was playing with her father while she waited for her birth mrs johnson had already poured the hot water in and had gone out to fetch some coal mary and her father were having a wonderful game foreign mrs campbell was out shopping and had left some soup boiling on the gas ring she was held up by cues so that her husband had to go off and leave the children to themselves jesse had picked james up and was sitting by the fire george was jumping about because there was more space near the fire and because he had new shoes on joseph carr five years old was being looked after by a friend for the evening as mrs carr had gone to see some relatives and mr carr was on night shift she was busy at the stove helping joseph to some stew joseph wasn't sitting up at the table yet and was fidgeting while she was helping herself but he was interested in what was on top it smelled good and he wanted to have a look were waiting to go to bed mrs patterson was in another room and mr pettison had gone to buy some fish and chips bill wanted helen to get a book down from the mental piece helen was taller than bill and she would read to him until bedtime all these accidents could so easily have been prevented by taking the simplest precautions against fire and heat these children could have been protected from the dangers that are present in every home of course the safest place for a child is in a playpen or a separate room but if children are going to be around the house every fire or stove whether it be gas electric or coal must have a good solid fire guard added to it because most fires are sold without suitable protection and this guard must be attached to the wall otherwise it will just get pulled over and don't balance kettles on gas rings or think that because they're out of reach they're out of harm's way remember that flex and put a guard in front and saucepans bowls of fat teapots everything hot and liquid remember children may be curious about anything so put them all well out of reach though nothing is ever out of reach on a tablecloth because of course a child can just pull the cloth off a small tablecloth which doesn't overhang or oil cloth tech to the underside of the table is the safest and when you are getting the bath ready remember although it may seem the wrong way around that the cold water goes in first before the hot water otherwise you are asking for trouble cotton frocks and flannelette night guns are very inflammable they stand away from the body and swing out as the children play interlock material is safer it clings to the body but a fire guard is really the only protection against clothes catching fire and don't forget about the cup of tea over somebody's shoulder this is always happening if with all these precautions a child does get burned or scalded cold water from the tap will help to relieve the pain most quickly then put on lint or any clean dry material to keep the skin covered from the air don't put anything else on at all if clothing is a light smother it at once with a blanket or a rug but the important thing is get the child to hospital at once remember how quickly and easily accidents can happen when you're not on the lookout really it's only a question of common sense common sense and patience with the children because for them one thing is as good to play with as another if they are trained early to keep away from fire and hot things they will develop heat sense in the same way as they can develop road since but until they understand the harm that these things can do to them it is the responsibility of the parents to see that the one thing they do not play with is fun remember the figures remember the children and don't forget the fire guard and the boiling saucepan