Playing with fire: the childcare centres exposing children to risk

Five-year-old Remy has been lighting fires at his Fitzroy child care centre and his teachers haven't batted an eyelid.

Children have learnt how to extinguish flames with a bucket of water, monitor heat by carefully tapping the firepit with the backs of their hands and cook jaffles in the coals. Most importantly, staff say they’ve learnt how to play safely around fire. The research involved 60 babies, toddlers and preschoolers at Adamstown Early Learning and Preschool in Newcastle, a centre where children light fires with flint sticks, use knives and splash in deep tubs of water. They have also built a cubby with powertools.

Project leader and associate professor Linda Newman said helicopter parenting could lead to a situation where children lacked the skills to deal with danger. While many educators sing praise for risky play, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade questioned whether such young children could retain information about fire safety.

While staff light the fuel in the firepit, assistant director Anthony Morris said the experience taught children about danger and gave them a “real experience”.

There is an old saying: 'If you play with fire 🔥 you get burned! '

We have a serial arsonist in the making here ...

And in Vic too. Surprise disco Dan didn’t shut it down.

The fire has just started. You have taught them to touch the steel base of the fire. Imagine if the fire had been going for a couple of hours what would happen?😎

This fire was not 'set' by a 5yo. Not a bad picture op. though.

One day the will burn the centre down then what will the be saying ?

Well done , no doubt an overprotective parent will find something to complain about and sue the school

Great that kids learn a bit about fire & risk, but also very important that the learn about the risk that fire poses if its used in the wrong way, like outside in the bush on a fire ban day

He needs somewhere to light hi smoke

good idea.... if we lose some, no problem, the migrants are having 10 each so we can catch up quickly

how do kids learn how to be safe unless they are exposed to risks? yes they must be supervised and trained, but they cant be wrapped in cotton wool because they will never learn 'stranger danger', road safety, sharps etc

Teaching kids how to light fires in an extreme fire state.... What could possibly go wrong?

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