Home Safety for the Holidays: Giveaway!

I’ve partnered with Kidde Safety to help create safe homes this holiday season. All opinions are my own. 

As you know I LOVE cooking and baking with my kids. In fact most of our day is spent in the kitchen either doing school work together or cooking and eating together.

I really want my girls to learn the basics of cooking before they grow up and leave the house. I didn’t do the best job with my oldest (although she is getting better) so I’m working really hard with my younger kids to help teach them kitchen skills.

While teaching them how to cook is important, teaching them kitchen safety is even more important. I’m often reminding them to turn handles to the inside when cooking on the stove top or to use two hands when removing something from the oven.

They also need to know what to do in a cooking emergency. Earlier this year we had a small fire in the bedroom while renovating and Cora knew just what to do. While I was upset about the fire, I was thrilled she did exactly what she was supposed to do in case of an emergency!

It is important to go over safety procedures with your kids because you never know what could happen. In fact several years ago my parents ended up replacing their entire kitchen due to stovetop popcorn maker catching on fire.

Teaching kids how to prevent fires in the kitchen and how to handle them if they happen is a must, and I recommend starting when they are young.

Here are some key safety stats you might not be aware of:

• Cooking is the number one cause of home fires and injuries.
• The winter months are the deadliest season for home fires.
• Most fatal home fires happen in homes with no smoke alarm or no working alarm.
• Nearly five times as many Americans know the shelf life of a Twinkie than know the recommended operating life of smoke alarm. (source: recent Kidde survey)

It is heartbreaking to think that many fatal fires might have been prevented by a working smoke alarm. It is an inexpensive solution and anyone can install them in their home.

Did you know that American homeowners rank a smoke alarm’s low battery chirp as their number one home fire safety complaint? I can understand. We’ve had our fair share of batteries die at 3am in our home. It is so annoying! I’ve wanted to rip the smoke alarm out of the ceiling and throw it out the window on those nights.

Kidde’s new Worry-Free smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are powered by sealed-in, 10-year lithium batteries and use one battery for the life of the alarm to provide 24/7 fire safety protection, eliminating the hassles of low battery chirps and battery replacement.

Another kitchen essential is a fire extinguisher. I can’t believe we didn’t have one of these for many years.

It is important that it is stored in an easy to reach place and that your children know how to use it and when to use it. I have boys so “when to use it” becomes a very important detail in my home!

To help your family stay safe this holiday season here’s a printable recipe card for safety. (Just click and download to print)

It is important to go over these directions with your family on a regular basis so they are prepared in case of an emergency.

Also, if you are like my family and get a real Christmas tree please read this article on Christmas tree safety. Did you know that every year Christmas trees cause over 200 fires?

Kidde Safety makes a complete line of home safety products including smoke and carbon monoxide alarms,  fire extinguishers, fire ladders and more. Visit their website for more information and to find out where you can purchase these life saving essentials for your home.

Giveaway!

I have one kitchen fire extinguisher to give away today. To enter please leave a comment. Giveaway is open to US addresses only. Ends December 20, 2014.