Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Halifax, NS

I am going to venture off the topic of books for today and share with you our amazing Fire station tour. Last Friday I arranged a tour of our local fire station for a group of stay at home moms and their children. The tour worked out fabulously and the fire fighters were so kind and patient with the children.

You too can arrange a fire station tour! Most preschools and daycare's will do so if your children is involved full time, however that means the stay at home kids are not getting the same exposure to fire safety! Besides fire trucks, stations, fire fighters and all that are very very cool. Most preschoolers are completely fascinated by it all, however they may also be very frightened by it all too. My children were petrified when they were confronted by a fire fighter in full gear. Our preschoolers will need the exposure to these situations in case a fire does occur. They need to not be frightened and willing to go with a fire fighter in the case of an emergency. I have been trying to teach my preschooler that fire fighters, as well as police are the go to people, if she cannot find mommy or daddy. It is a tough sell for her. he believes that she will never be separated from mom and dad, therefore never needing to approach a safe person.

The fire fighters were amazing with the group of preschoolers. They allowed them to climb in the fire trucks, showed them the fire pole and exposed the children to a fire fighter in full gear. None of the children were eager to approach the firefighter once he had the mask on. So he had one of the moms put on part of the gear (full gear can weigh up to 100 lbs!) to see if the children were afraid of him or the gear. Turns out the gear is totally the frightening part. Which totally emphases the need to arrange opportunities for preschoolers to safely be around fire fighters and learn fire safety.

So how can you arrange a tour of your local fire station? Here in Metro Halifax got to the city's website at halifax.ca, from there proceed to the Residents section of the website. The fire fighters have a wealth of information on their area of the website.  To set up a tour call (902) 490-4017 and leave a detailed message. The education coordinator will call you back with information about the fire station closest to you and provide a number to call the Duty Captain to set it up. Not from Halifax? Check your city's homepage or stop by your local fire station.

Teaching our preschoolers fire safety is so important. It could save their lives. The local fire fighters are totally there, to help and educate. We were encouraged to book another tour in the early summer, when the fire fighters can turn on the hoses!