Teaching children fire safety through symbolic modeling on videos: Effects of message framing and parental mediation

Objectives. To determine joint effects of message framing and parental mediation on children's learning.

Background. Fire- and burn-related accidents harm more than 100,000 children annually. It is not known whether messages should be framed positively (safe behaviors, positive outcomes) or negatively (unsafe behaviors, negative outcomes) to teach young children protective behaviors.

Methods. Using a community sample, a 2 (message frame: positive, negative) x 3 (parental mediation: none, unscripted, scripted) between-subjects experiment was conducted among 321 parent-child pairs (children's age range 6-9 years), randomly assigning them to one of six conditions. After video screening and parent-child discussions, children were asked what they would do in the event of a fire or burn injury. Correct responses were standardized and averaged into an index (alpha=.62).

Results. Message frame manipulations were successful (Ps<.001). ANCOVA models (controlling for demographic and psychosocial predictors) showed positive messages were most effective F(1,301)=12.37, P<.001. Parental mediation was most effective when parents were given specific discussion guidelines, F(2,301)=16.08, P<.001. A framingXmediation interaction, F(2,301)=3.88, P<.05, showed negative messages were least effective for the unguided mediation group. Conclusions. Children learned best when messages were framed positively and when parents were provided specific discussion guidelines. Learning was suppressed when parents communicated, without written guidelines, with children who had seen negatively framed messages. It is not adequate to simply ask parents to “talk to your child,” as many interventions do. Rather, parents must be provided specific guidelines on how to do so, particularly if children are exposed to negative messages in their symbolic environment.