Make time for safety

Safety and the role it plays in your life depend on many things, including your attitude.
All of us need to learn how to protect ourselves, and family members from the potential injury hazards that can strike at any giving time. We all need to be made aware of and reminded to be responsible, to think, and to make time for safety!
Parents and grandparents work hard to prepare children for the future. But, if you don’t teach children how to avoid preventable injuries . . . their future may never happen.
Children can learn to be safe. Sparking an interest in safety early on in a child’s life, can lead to a life-long appreciation for injury prevention, and how it affects our daily lives.
You owe it to yourself and family to work and play safely. Every time a family member is injured or killed by something that could have been prevented, everyone suffer . . . children, parents, friends, and entire communities.
The general public in the past has exhibited a concern toward problems such as violence, drugs and diseases. However, these are not the number one health risk to Canadians. The number one health risk to Canadians is: unintentional injuries!
The injuries range from fire and burns; bike, traffic and pedestrian injuries; drowning, and other water injuries; firearm injuries; falls injuries; poisonings; choking, suffocation, and strangulation injuries. These type of injuries are not random accidents…they are predicable and with proper education, largely preventable.
Remember, if you never need what you learn about personal safety, you have lost nothing. But if you never learn what you need, you may lose everything . . . your family and your life!
Safety. . . it starts with you!
Tyler Moffitt is a first aid instructor, and served 15 years as a volunteer firefighter and emergency responder. He writes fire and life safety columns throughout Canada as a public service.