The effect of instruction on burn prevention in eighth-grade students in preparation for babysitting

New parents quickly discover that the greatest resource for child care at the least cost are teenage babysitters. These sitters assume the responsibility for burn prevention of young children. This study tested the effect of a burn prevention presentation on pre- and posttest scores of eighth-grade students (N = 119) from five sections of a science class. Students were between the ages of 12 and 14 years and 99 of them (83.2%) were babysitters. Multiple analysis of variance was calculated, and differences were seen between information regarding burns from hot bath water, cigarette lighters, and baby bottles that were heated in microwave ovens; however, the differences were not significant. This study concluded that eighth-grade students learned burn prevention before they entered the eighth grade but that there is a need to update these babysitters on burn prevention and new hazards such as cigarette lighters and microwave ovens.