Fire Safety: To tell parents of small children to keep a duvet cover in the bedroom

[WorldLeaderPretend]

When my kids were small, I kept a spare duvet cover under the bed in each bedroom. Before I had children, a house 3 doors down lost 2 of their 3 children in a house fire. Parent got into the room but couldn't get the kids out. This haunted me and I decided I could lower a baby or toddler out of a first floor window inside an empty duvet cover. Even if it didn't go right to the ground, it would hugely reduce the distance they would be falling from. I kept one in every child's room until the youngest was 5 or so. Even today we have an agreed escape plan for a fire (and ladders stored on the side of the house for easy access).

Other top tips include using a towel on the pillow for a vomiting child - you just change the towel rather than having to keep changing sheets and pillowcases.

Oh and after a bad dream, you shake the nasty dream off the pillow onto the floor and turn it over to the nice dream on the other side of the pillow. I still do this now I am in my 50s!

For safety or ease, what do you do? Any brilliant ideas?

OP I'm sorry if you feel that you have had a pile on. But fire safety is a serious issue. Poor plans can make the situation worse. I am particularly aware of this after severe fire seasons in my home country and the lose of life resulting in people following plans which weren't thought out.

Thank you for the thread, especially in the run up to Christmas with all the extra electricity, candles etc. that will be in use. No one is forced to read on if they don't want to.
Is it really too much to ask that people just stop reading a thread they feel uncomfortable with, rather than launching into an epic navel gazing sesh???🙄

This has been a very useful thread, op, so thank you for starting it. For those whose anxiety has been triggered, while I do understand that can't be easy to live with, I think if you give it some thought, you'll realise deep down that the usefulness of the thread perhaps outweighs any potential negative impact for a few. It kept me awake a little last night too, but I'm glad it did, because it got me thinking about a very serious topic that does definitely require my attention.

For those saying the timing is insensitive given the recent deadly house fire on the news, surely it's the opposite... It is a topical and important subject that should get us all thinking. I've already made changes in my house. Thanks again, op.

Thanks@ShirleyPhallus