16 - Friday, February 8, 1991 —- North Shore News “HOME & GARDEN Don’t confuse children with mixed match messages| “*~DON'T TOUCH this,”’ ‘*Don’t do that,’’ “‘Don’t...”” Children are in- undated almost every day with the word ‘‘don’t.”’ The District of North Vancouver Fire Department believes children should be taught to give matches and lighters to an adult and not just **don’t”? touch matches and lighters. {1 can confuse children if one aduit says ‘‘Give matches to a grownup”? and another adult says **Don’t touch matches.”” The CTW/Sesame Street pro- gram materials teach the message “*Give matches and lighters to a grownup.’ This message ties into the Sesame Street concept, which centres around adults in a child’s life. When Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) decided to present fire safety messages to pre-school children, they con- tracted the Harvard School of Education for research and devel- opment. This research indicated that if chiidren were not given something specific and concrete to do, their behavior was inconsistent and unpredictable. When children were given specific, concrete action, and that action was reinforced, their reac- tion to a situation became pre- dictable. ‘Give matches to a grownup’”’ is a positive message. It provides a measurable change in a child’s behavior. This change can be documented so that you know the child got the message. It is iraportant to em- power children to become part of the solution. Removing the mat- ches also removes the hazard for Keep Christmas plants blooming CANADIANS IN all parts of the country received, or purchased for themselves, several million poinsettia, azalea, cyclamen, and chrysanthemum plants. All of these plants have the capability of providing a good floral show for many months yet, if they are given the proper care. Ic is not difficult, for example, to maintain your beautiful red, pink or white poinsettia with its colored bracts through at least un- til Easter. Keep in mind that poinsettias are warm temperature plants, and cold rooms and drafts of cold or hot air should absolute- ly be avoided. They need to be watered well whenever the top of the soil in the pot feels dry to the touch. If these suggestions are followed you should easily have your poinsettia still looking gorgeous in your home come Easter. Once the colored bracts and other foliage begins to drop, it’s time to discard the plant, or to Tetire it to a basement plant room where you may keep it growing until all danger of frost has passed and it can then be planted out- doors. Once you move it to the base- ment, cut it back severely leaving only the main stems no more than one-third their original length. Application of a general purpose soluble fertilizer at that time is also advised. Many accomplished gardeners prefer to discard their poinsettia plants at the end of their colorful display each year, rather than go- ing through the technical ritual that is necessary to have them See Azaleas page 17 HOT TIPS North Vancouver District Fire Gepartment the child and other voungsters in the home. The message **Leave matches alone. Go tcll a grownup” is bas- ed on the premise that the adult will actually go pick up the mat- ches or lighter. The likelihood of this occurring on a regular basis is slim. Children are doers. From 18 to 20 months, it’s **Me do! Me do!” By three or four years of age, children want to help and do things themselves. Child psychologists say that at the age of 2% to 3% years, children ex- perience ‘‘reversal syndrome.”’ Children will at first withdraw from something that they are afraid of, then be compulsively drawn to the object. Children are learning that they can be in con- trol. They want to try to control many things in their environment because they haven’: learned parameters yet. Pre-school] children are testing the boundaries of their control, but they are still innately helpful and cooperative. Teaching children ‘‘Don’t 1994 PRICES ARE'NOW THE SAME AS 1989 CUSTOM BUILT CLOSET ORGANISERS AND MIRROR DOORS touch’ tends to add to the mysti- que which surrounds any taboo. A number of parents have stated, ‘I don't think my kids would leave them (matches/lighters) alone.” When they are pre-school children and the message is changed to “Give the matches to a grownup” at some older-age. it would con- fuse them about fire prevention rules. We need to keep our messages the same, even though the child's world is undergoing change. To summarize our position, firefighters, public fire educators, teachers and parents should teach children to ‘*‘Give matches and lighters to a grownup.’ This behavior should be positively rein- forced each time it occurs. We must accept the responsibil- ity for providing children with the correct messages so they will not get conflicting messages at home. In addition, children who are not positively reinforced to giving matches to a parent, can be posi- tively reinforced to giving matches and lighters to another responsible adult. For further information, con- tact the District of North Van- couver Fire Department non- emergency phone number 980- 7575, or your local fire depart- ment. Eliminate waste space and mess. Create more useable space in any closet. We turn your ideas into furniture Custom built furniture for the Home & Office. SHOWROOM OPEN MON. - SAT. 9-5 CANADIAN CLOSET 1385 Crown St. N. 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