(NAPSI)Homes are the sites of thousands of burn injuries to children every year, including scalds and fire-related injuries. Many of these incidents could have been easily prevented by following and implementing some basic safety tips. Shriners Hospitals for Children is addressing this issue by focusing its annual yearlong burn awareness campaign on teaching children to Be Burn Aware, especially at home. At Shriners Hospitals for Children, preventing burn injuries and providing burn awareness education is an ongoing, yearlong effort, said Peter Armstrong, M.D., chief medical officer, Shriners Hospitals for Children. Our campaign, Be Burn Aware, focuses on teaching children ways to avoid burn injuries at home. The campaign introduces two new childfriendly charactersBoots and Brewster-a caped, cuddly bear and a googly-eyed teapot. The engaging duo is featured in activity books designed for children ages 3 to 12, and also a poster. In the materials, the pair leads children through the various rooms of a house, pointing out dangers and how to easily correct or avoid them. The new materials are available at no charge in both English and Spanish at www.burnawareness.org. Tips to Keep Children Safe Use electrical outlet covers. Have an escape plan, including two exits from each room, in place. Practice using the plan. Have a designated meeting place at a safe distance from the home. Install an appropriate number of smoke detectorsone near each bedroom, one at the top of each stairway and one near the planned escape route. Teach your children that matches are not toys. Store all flammable liquids, chemicals and cleaners out of reach of children or lock the cabinet. Replace damaged electrical cords. Do not leave lighted candles unattended. Always supervise children in the bath. The water in a childs bath should not exceed 104 F. Set your water heater no higher than 120 F. Keep all hot items and anything electrical out of reach of children and away from edges of tables and counters. Keep pot handles turned inward; use oven mitts or pot holders. Keep clothing from coming into contact with flames or heating elements. Follow instructions and cautions for heating items in a microwave oven. Do not handle hot items while holding young children. Shriners Hospitals for Children is a system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children. Four of the hospitals are focused specifically on pediatric burn care. Anyone concerned with keeping children safe can visit www.burnawareness.org for important burn prevention tips and information on how to order the free materials, in English or Spanish. For more information on Shriners Hospitals for Childrens pediatric specialty care, visit www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org. Shriners Hospitals for Children depends on donations to fund research and other programs. To learn how you can help, visit www.donate2SHC.org.   On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate (NAPSI)

Boots and Brewster are featured in the campaign Be Burn Aware, which is designed to teach burn prevention tips to children. (NAPS)