The Ministry of Emergency Situations is launching a new information campaign «Children are not adults! Do not leave them alone!»

Every year in Belarus, there are incidents involving child fatalities and injuries. And most often, for the same reason: adults lose control.

“Just for a minute” – and children are left alone. It seems that nothing terrible will happen, but it is precisely these minutes that sometimes decide everything. Many parents think that a child is already independent enough to be left alone. But children, especially preschoolers, are only learning to understand where the danger lies. At the same time, parents pay almost no attention to teaching children basic safety rules. Worse still, they sometimes set an example of unsafe behavior themselves.

Over the past five years in Belarus (2020-2024), 38 children have died in fires. 14 cases were registered in cities, and 24 in rural areas. As of December 30, 2025, 4 children have died in fires. The most vulnerable group is children under 7 years old. The main causes of tragedies are: careless handling of fire by adults (including smoking); violation of electrical equipment operation rules; children's mischief with fire (playing with matches, lighters, flammable liquids).

Water poses no less danger to children. From 2020 to 2024, 131 children drowned in Belarus (including 67 while swimming in water bodies), of which 12 fell through the ice. In the swimming season (May-September) of 2025 alone, there were 8 child fatalities (including 2 while swimming in a water body). The causes are the same: lack of supervision, overconfidence, inability to swim, recreation at unequipped beaches, lack of basic safety knowledge and skills. One minute of inattention, and ordinary water recreation turns into a tragedy.

To draw parents' attention to the problem of child fatalities and injuries among preschool and primary school-aged children in fires and at water bodies, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, with the support of the UNICEF Representative Office in the Republic of Belarus, has developed a new information campaign: “Children are not adults! Do not leave them alone!”

The campaign urges adults to change their attitude towards child safety, abandon overconfidence, and exercise constant vigilance.

Parents are often proud when their child behaves "like an adult": helps out, shows independence, reasons logically. They want to see a little adult in their child – smart and responsible, who can already handle many household chores. But this is self-deception, because children are not adults. Even if they know how to turn on the stove, charge their phone, or make themselves tea. They are still children who lack the experience, knowledge, and self-preservation instinct of an adult.

A child may imitate adult actions but not understand their consequences. They have seen parents cook, use electrical appliances (turn on an iron, stove, kettle) and want to "do it like an adult." But what is familiar to us is a game for a child, where every mistake can be life-threatening. And when parents leave children alone, often with the confidence "my child is already grown up" – that's precisely when tragedies happen.

While the child plays at being an adult, the adult must play the role of protector. That is why the campaign slogan is simple, clear, and to the point: "Children are not adults! Do not leave them alone!".

Thus, the social advertisement of the Ministry of Emergency Situations does not intimidate, but rather makes even those who believe that "this will never happen to my children" think. No call, no store, no errand is worth risking what is most precious. And wherever you are in a hurry, take your child with you. It's better for them to wait nearby, because with you, they are safe. Protect your children!