A fun way to learn about safety

Pupils of Junior College Sunninghill got to learn about safety in a fun and entertaining way when Darin McDowall went to the school to perform a home safety skills interactive show on 11 October.

The show was hosted free of charge by security company, ADT and aims to teach children about safety in an interesting and non-threatening way. Issues addressed included kitchen safety, what to do if criminals enter your home, the dangers of playing with guns and learning an easy way to remember the emergency numbers for the police.

Read also: Mr ADT makes learning about safety fun for kids

“This show is a chance for the kids to learn through entertainment,” explained Laverna Machiridza, principal of the college.

“It will help give them a sense of what to do in an emergency, and teachers will reinforce the advice learned later in the classrooms to help the children remember.”

Read also: Mr ADT to the rescue

The show lasted for about 40 minutes and was performed in front of children aged 18 months and upwards. Darin McDowall, or Mr ADT, is a well-known Johannesburg entertainer and has performed the show across Gauteng and the Western Cape.

With the help of puppets such as Gary the Gun and Po the Superhero Karate Teddy, McDowall explained to the children what dangers to look for in the home, such as cold drink bottles that parents may have filled with other substances such as paraffin or what could happen to children who play with electrical plugs.

The children were engaged throughout the show by McDowall, who used sleight of hand magic and props to keep their attention, even setting an over-sized matchbox on fire to demonstrate the dangers of playing with matches.

“This show is about teaching children about safety in a way that isn’t scary,” said McDowall.

“And that’s important, because the subject matter [safety risks and what to do if your house is broken into] is scary, but I want to teach children how to address such situations without becoming frightened.”