It’s important to remember that children under 10 are still at risk for potential holiday hazards. Parents must be very careful when purchasing holiday items and toys that they are safe items to have at home. Please read each label and check consumer reports or websites such as the American Academy of Pediatrics when considering holiday safety tips.
If you are celebrating Christmas, and want to purchase a tree which is artificial, make sure it is labeled “fire resistant.” A real Christmas tree must be fresh, but the needles may break and can be hazardous to a young child placing things in their mouth. Keep your tree away from radiators, portable heaters, or fireplaces and out of the way of any type of doorways or anywhere with high family traffic. Wrapping paper burns quickly and violently in a fireplace so be sure you remember to throw it away immediately. You may also want to block off the tree if you have young children so it may not fall on top of them or they don’t break anything or put dangerous things in their mouth.
If you are choosing to use tree lights, make sure all the bulbs work, no frayed wires, loose connections or broken sockets. Turn off all lights when going to bed or leaving your house so it could not start a fire. With a metallic tree, never use electric lights on it because a person could be electrocuted. Keep small batteries and magnets away from young children. Button batteries are also found in many toys, cards, hearing aids and electronics, and a young child can swallow them easily.
Young children under 8 can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons. Remove strings and ribbons from toys before you give them to your child. Toys that have strings that are longer than 12 inches can strangle a baby or preschool aged child. Keep older children’s toys, such as electronics, games, and other products with small parts, separate from younger children’s toys.
If you are travelling, just remember this can be stressful for both you or your young children. Try as much as possible, whether staying at a hotel or family members home, to set up a usual routine, a sleeping routine, an eating routine, napping, so that it can reduce stress within the family and among relatives or friends. Try not to overdo too many visitations, shopping, museums, and parks in one day. Spread it out.
During a holiday visitation with other friends or relatives, make sure you assign an adult or older teen to watch a baby or toddler at all times. Do not leave leftover food such as alcohol, nuts, grapes, hotdogs, peanut butter, tobacco or any choking hazards around on tables where they can reach or ingest them. You must childproof the home ahead of time.
Women’s purses, cleaning products, stairways, hot radiators, unlocked cabinets are hazards to young children during parties. Make sure you have numbers in case of emergency of police, fire departments, doctors, hospitals, or poison controls and your insurance card if an accident were to happen.
Make sure that young children do not have access to light strands, tinsel, or other ornaments that may contain lead or other poisonous materials. If you have a pool, make sure the gate is locked so the child has no access to getting inside a pool area or an aquarium. Do not leave doors unlocked where young children can open them or runaway.
We hope these suggestions will guide you and prevent any accidents to your family members. Have a safe and wonderful holiday season filled with joy, love, peace, and friendship.
