Training Preschoolers in Home Safety Skills to Prevent Inadvertent Injury

Abstract

Safety skills training was conducted utilizing a revised preschool version of Peterson's (1984b) "Safe-at-Home" game training manual as a method of preventing domestic inadvertent injury in preschool children. Thirty 3- to 5-year-old subjects received safety skills training for a variety of home situations: selecting and preparing snacks, encountering strangers at the door or on the telephone, and responding to afire or to a badly cut hand. Children were trained in small groups within the classroom setting by preschool teachers. Two methods of trainer preparation were utilized: (a) the training manual plus professional consultation, or (b) the training manual alone. Results demonstrated that children significantly improved in. safety behavior following training, and no clear superiority of either method of trainer preparation was seen. The findings are discussed in view of the role of safety skills training of children in the broader arena of injury prevention.