What's a good punishment for a 9 year old that was playing with fire?

Question

He had a hairspray can and a lighter and I guess he thought it would be cool to see what it does, luckily my 2 year old son told on him.

Ok, maybe I should clarify that this is an extremely smart child and YES he knows better!!

Answer 1

No punishment is necessary. Boys do this and that.
Take him to the local fire station for a tour and an education about how dangerous this is.
Call your local fire dept. information officer and arange for a FAMILY tour and orientation and don't put it off. These guys know their stuff and are psychologically trained to handle these situations with the greatest of care and a lot more understanding than most parents. Besides, the trip wouldn't hurt you either and you can really pickup some good information on how to save your home and possibly your lives int the event of a fire not to mention insurance money saving tips to reduce your home insurance. You will enjoy the experience. Hope this answer helps you. GB

Answer 2

My guess would be that he is curious to what might happen. He may of heard it from a friend . A lot of parent think that if a child performs a behaviour that is bad " Playing with Fire" that he/she is doing it to show off, or get some type of recognition, which may be the case with some kids depending on their behavioural patterns. It might also be that your little one is curious and wants to see it for himself what will happen if he used hairspray with a lighter. I would sit him down and have a REAL conversation with him about the dangers of fire. Maybe research flammable substances with him on the Internet. Explain that he put not only his life but his little brothers life in danger. Or take him down to your local fire station and have a fire fighter explain the dangers of fire and there he can ask them any questions that he might have. Use this as a learning experience. I know how frustrating it can be especially knowing that your little ones could of seriously been hurt and it seems easy just to punish them and say don't do it again but wouldn't you feel better knowing that your child truly understands that dangers of fire? Kids willing to learn if your are willing to teach...... I hope I helped out a little...

Answer 3

Maybe you could think beyond punishments and try to find out why he did that. Does he understand how serious this is? Does he realize that this type of behavior can cause property damages, injury, & death? If not, no amount of punishments will work.

If this was only a one time thing & he was just curious, then loss of privileges (ex. - take away video games for a period of time, no friends over for a while, etc.) and a serious lecture about the tragedies of playing with fire might work. Additionally, you'll want to keep tight control of any matches or lighters in the house. If he routinely does things like this that could cause death or injury, you may want to speak to a psychologist or counselor. (I'm not trying to be a smart a**. I work in a school and have seen many children with many different issues. If your son has a problem playing with fire or engaging in risky behavior, you'll want to nip it in the bud.)

Good luck.

Answer 4

Depending on the temperment of your child a burn ward could help, but it could also scar him for life. I think visiting your local fire department is the best thing. Boys tend to take advice from official people at that age better. You should see if you could set up a visit to his school for your sons class or grade. Fire departments do this all the time. That way if he learned about it from a friend they would get the info too. Another thing is to make sure that your children do not have access to the lighter or matches. It only takes one match to burn down your home and/or kill you and your family. We camp a bunch and taught my son to respect fire. He is allowed to light things(like the bon fire or stove), but only under adult supervision and he knows how to build a fire in a pit and put it out. He knows where we keep the fire extingushier in our home and our escape routes. He was responsible for setting up our plan. It gives him a sense of power and pride.And of course he would lose his X-box and outside privleges for awhile

Answer 5

Check with your local fire department to see of they have any advice. They may have demonstrations or movies that would show what could have happened. It is great that your 2 year old has more sense than a 9 year old. Find out where he got the idea. He may have a friend that is doing the same thing.

Answer 6

First you need to ground him for a month, and make him stand in the corner for at least an hour with his nose touching the wall, and his hands behind his back. Take him to the fire department, and have them show him the dangers of playing with fire, and if they could have a demonstration of something flammable, and show him what could happen, and also have a good lecture with him about what he did. Also take away his bike, don't let him watch TV, or play video games, and don't allow him to talk on the phone, unless it is immediate family member, and also take away his favorite toys. He is very lucky he didn't get burned to death.

Answer 7

I have a smart 9 yr old boy too and if he did this I would take a trip down to the local fire department and explain to them and maybe they could explain the importance of playing with fire.

Answer 8

Take him to a local fire department. Ours do this.
They teach young children the dangers of fire.

Even though we as parents try to teach them wrong from right, sometimes it takes an outsider to really get through to them.

Maybe search Google and look for pictures of what can happen when you play with fire and give him a good scare.

I don't think that there is any punishment for him.
I think showing the results of playing with fire, and getting the proper education will help.

Answer 9

Make it an educational tour of your local fire department which will no doubt impress on him the risk of lives he could be invoking, but also expose him to a possible counter-career. Don't tell him teens and older adults have done the same thing with WD-40 in print and auto shops.

Answer 10

OMG
It's so easy for my first gut feeling to be to show him what happens to people who get burned. But you don't want to scare him to death or give him nightmares.
Explain in no uncertain terms about fire. what it does to humans , property and animals.
I explained to my son early on that fire is so bad, that is why people need to jump out of fires. A broken bone will heal, getting burnt your not so likely.
In my home town when I was a kid, a boy came upon 2 other boys playing with gas and matches, when he confronted them , they threw gas on him and burned him. He was for- ever disfigured. He had no nose etc. I would also tell him if he comes upon anyone playing with fire, run and get an adult immediatley
Good Luck.