Too Hot for Tots!: Educator’s Handbook

Frances MacDougall, a clinical nurse who worked for many years on the Burn Unit at BC Children’s Hospital, developed the Too Hot for Tots! (THFT) Program after learning that many caregivers were unaware of burn hazards in their home. The Too Hot for Tots! Program offers training programs and resources for caregivers. The THFT Educator’s Handbook can be downloaded here. The Resource Guide for Community Educators, updated in January 2014, was developed with the support of Dr. Cynthia Verchere, pediatric plastic surgeon and Director for BC Children’s Hospital Burn Unit, Safe Kids Canada, the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund and Safe Start, the injury-prevention program of BC Children’s Hospital. The THFT program approaches the issue from three angles: education, enforcement and environment.

THFT offers two training programs for educators:

• One-hour Presentation: Educators are provided with an overview of pediatric thermal injuries and their consequences. Frances will share why the THFT program created statistically significant changes in parents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.
• 2.5 Hour Workshop: In Canada, fire and burn related injuries are the 3rd leading cause of injury-related hospital admissions for children 0-4 years of age. Yet, 70% of Canadian parents do not know that hot liquids such as tea and hot tap water are the most common cause of childhood burn injuries. The training will share evidence-based prevention strategies and recommendations on how to effectively implement the THFT program in your community.

NOTE: Some of the images in the beginning of the THFT video may be disturbing. The images were carefully selected to support World Health Organization recommendations that injury prevention programs should convince caregivers that children are vulnerable to burn injuries.

Program evaluation has shown that facilitated presentation of the video material prior to distribution of the brochures is significantly more effective in preventing injury to young children than distributing the brochures on their own. The THFT video is available in six languages.