Myleene Klass has left TikTok viewers divided after revealing that she blindfolds her children and makes them do fire drills at her home every month. The former Hear'Say singer has gone viral on the video-sharing platform in recent months with her informative online 'Klasses' covering everything from musical tips and Halloween makeup to brain training and fire safety.
However, a clip showing one of Myleene's monthly fire drills has had a mixed reaction from TikTok users. While most people have praised the radio presenter for teaching her children a potentially life-saving skill, others have claimed that it is unnecessary and potentially traumatising for them. You can get more celebrity news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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The video - which has been watched over 467,000 times - is introduced by Myleene, standing with her young daughters and baby son, who tells viewers that she is going to teach them the dos and don'ts of surviving a house fire. She says: "Practice fire drills at home at least once a month. Talking about fires with children is scary, but role-play it so they know what to do.
"People panic in fires and try to leave out the front door, but plan a different escape like windows," she adds, as she offered a list of tips. "If a door is hot, there could be a fire behind it. Children often get scared and try to hide under their beds or in cupboards. Explain that this will make it harder to find them."
The video then shows Myleene and her two daughters crawling through the house with blindfolds on as they role-play escaping from a fire. "Make it into a learning game," she says. "They won't be able to see through the smoke. Get your children to wear blindfolds and stay low. Smoke naturally rises - teach them that smoke and poisonous gases hurt people more than actual flames."
While the clip was posted on TikTok back in 2020, it recently received attention after the model and classical singer appeared on Carol Vorderman's BBC Radio Wales show to promote her new book, 'They Don’t Teach This at School: Essential Knowledge to Tackle Everyday Challenges'. Being prepared in case of a fire at home - which the former Countdown star admitted was her "biggest fear" - is one of the lessons in the book, which was released earlier in May.
“We do the drill once a month, and we change the exits," Myleene explained when quizzed over her fire procedures. "They like the problem-solving side of things as well. So I’ll say, ‘Let’s say we can’t get out via the bathroom, so how would you do this, and this room’s only got a window, so how would you do that?’”
“Smoke gets you first before the flames. You’ve got to teach children to get down on the floor. And we put blindfolds on and make it into a game. We try and see who knows the house well enough to navigate in the dark," she added. “I feel strongly about empowering children to know what to do if there’s a fire. There’s fire drills at school, fire drills at work, but no-one really does them in their house.”
Many TikTok users praised Myleene for teaching the life skill to her children and for sharing it online. "This is brilliant," said one. "Well done for this, totally using your platform in the right way - thank you. Another added: "Amazing, I never thought of that, very important. Thank you for raising the subject."
Others said that doing similar drills themselves had helped save them from potential disaster. "My mam did things like this when we were young," said one. "When we had a fire, we didn't panic, grabbed the baby, shouted for the dog and we were out quick." A second said: "I thought I was the only one who ever did this, I used to do it with my children all the time when they were little," while a third user added: "As a child who almost died with my mother in a house fire, this is something that I do in my head all the time."
However, while hundreds left supportive comments, others questioned Myleene's parenting, with some suggesting the drills were impractical and unnecessary . "Practice fire drills at home at least once a month???" asked one shocked user, with another replying: "Yeah, that doesn't sound practical. Surely they'll know the drill after the first two times." A third wrote: "Once a month, they don't even do that in school!".
Other users leapt to the singer's defence however, writing: "Practice makes perfect when lives can be at risk." Another added: "I'd rather be safe than sorry. Different kids learn at different rates."
