07/22/2026
Infants, young children, and even those up to 18 years of age are especially vulnerable to risk of smoke-related health effects and other factors during wildfires due to their developing lungs.
Children with asthma, allergies, or other chronic health conditions are at an increased risk.
Children are more likely to be exposed to smoke because they spend more time outdoors, engage in vigorous activity, and inhale more air per pound of body weight compared to adults.
Wildfire Smoke can travel hundreds of miles from the source of a fire and change rapidly during the day, even if no fire is nearby.
What you can do:
Pay attention to and check the air quality indicator (AQI) levels often at https://www.airnow.gov.
Know your program’s policies on air quality and consider participating in the Air Quality Flag Program.
Be attentive to children’s emotional health and well-being. Calmly let children know what’s happening. Reassure them that you are working to keep them safe. Keep to routines and have a back-up plan of fun and interesting inside activities ready to go.
Resources:
Wildfire Smoke, Climate Change, & Children’s Health: How to Keep Kids Safe
[Link]https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/climate-change-has-sparked-more-wildfires-why-kids-are-most-at-risk.aspx
Growing Up in a Warming World: How Wildfire Smoke Affects Early Childhood Development
[Link]https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/HCDC-Wildfire-Brief_1.24.pdf
Wildfire Smoke and Health Fact Sheets
[Link]https://www.epa.gov/wildfires/wildfire-smoke-and-health-factsheets
Indoor activities:
Ready Wrigley, Wildfires & Smoke, is a free, printable children's activity book developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [Linkhttps://www.cdc.gov/natural-disasters/media/pdfs/2024/08/CDC_CPR_RW_Prepares-for-Wildfires_FINAL.pdf
Learning, Rube Goldberg style
[Linkhttps://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/HO_RubeGoldberg.pdf
Children’s Art
[Linkhttps://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/TIPS0108.pdf
Creating Structures: Common and Uncommon Ideas
[Linkhttps://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/TIPS1312.pdf
