Holiday Safety Tips for Kids Part 1: The Home
The holidays are a fun and exciting time of the year for kids. From decorations and parties in the home to gifts galore; kids love the holidays! Unfortunately, with all the excitement surrounding this time of year, people often forget about basic safety measures to help prevent injuries. This holiday season, Truestar brings you a two-part series on how to keep your kids safe. This week, we will give you tips on how to keep the home safe. Next week, we’ll bring you Part 2: "Safe Gifts for Kids."
Here are some home safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
Decorations
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• Don’t use lighted candles on a tree. Always use non-flammable holders, and place candles where they will not be knocked down.
• Where small children are living, avoid decorations that are sharp or breakable, keep trimmings with small parts out of the reach of children to avoid the child from swallowing small pieces.
• Remove all wrapping papers, bags, paper, ribbons and bows from tree and fireplace areas after gifts are opened. These items can pose suffocation and choking hazards to a small child, or can cause a fire if near flame.
• Remember to tell your children what is safe to touch and what is likely to break and cause harm.
Lights
• Do not leave children unsupervised around any kind of electrical lighting or open flame.
• If you have purchased a metallic tree, don’t use electric lights. The tree can become charged with electricity and anyone touching a branch could be electrocuted.
• When using lights outdoors, check labels to be sure they have been certified for outdoor use.
• Before hanging tree lights, make sure all the bulbs work and that there are no frayed wires, broken sockets or loose connections.
• Turn off all lights when you go to bed or leave the house. The lights could short out and start a fire.
Trees
• Make sure an artificial tree is “Fire Resistant.” If buying a live tree, try to choose a fresh tree, as it is less of a fire hazard. The tree should be green, needles are hard to pull from branches and when bent between your fingers, needles do not break. The trunk butt should be sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles.
• For better water absorption and fire prevention, cut a few inches off the trunk of your tree to expose the fresh wood. Also, be sure to keep the stand filled with water, because heated rooms can dry live trees out rapidly.
• When setting up a tree at home, place it away from fireplaces, radiators or portable heaters and don't allow it to block doorways.
Remember, when visiting friends and relatives, check the environment for these same types of safety hazards. The homes you visit may not be childproofed.
Truestar wants your kids to have a healthy holiday season with the Truestar kids plan: delicious meal plans, fun and easy exercise plans, supplements, sleep and attitude plans.
Have a happy and safe holiday season! Stay tuned for “Part 2: Safe Gifts for Kids.”
