It’s the most wonderful time of the year for kids. Thanksgiving turkeys, visits from Santa and getting to stay up late to watch the ball drop may be some of the highlights of the holiday season for your child.
What isn’t on your son or daughter’s wish list this year is an injury. Sadly, thousands of kids end up in emergency rooms each year due to common holiday hazards. Keep your child nestled safely this holiday season with a few key safety tips.
Be COVID-19 Cautious
National and local health officials are predicting another spike in COVID-19 cases over the holidays, largely due to families letting their guards down in the name of holiday spirit. Although it may be difficult for your child to sacrifice sitting on Santa’s lap or attending a classmate’s party, keeping your child safe from the coronavirus will require a socially-distanced holiday season.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best ways to protect your child from COVID-19 are to limit in-person playtime and choose virtual meetups instead, wash your child’s hands often, clean and disinfect the surfaces in your home, and have any child over two years old wear a mask. Opt to stay home this year instead of traveling to visit friends and family, as well.
Emphasize Stranger Danger
The holidays are an especially dangerous time for child abductions. Bustling shopping malls, busy parking lots and distracted parents can make it easier for criminals to seize their opportunities. Emphasize stranger danger this holiday season to keep your little one safe. Teach your child the risks of listening to, following or getting into a car with a stranger. Before a family shopping outing, make a rule that your child must always stay within at least two giant steps from you. Make sure your child knows not to leave the mall with anyone. Dress your child in bright clothing to spot him or her more easily in a crowd.
Keep Your Home Secure
Unfortunately, shopping centers and airports are not the only places you need to worry about criminals this holiday season. A robber or burglar may come directly to your home to take advantage of expensive gifts you may have under your tree. Keep your child safe by using a state-of-the-art security system. Keep your alarm armed at all times, even while you are home. If you can, place gifts where they will not be visible from windows. Tell a neighbor if you are going out of town.
Give the Space Heater Some Space
Burns are one of the most common child injuries treated in ERs over the holidays. Space heaters are frequent culprits. Tell your child to always leave a few feet of space between him or her and the space heater. This can help prevent childhood burn injuries. Also teach your child general fire safety rules, such as to never cover a space heater with a blanket or curtain. Space heaters and other heating equipment cause around 50,000 house fires in the US every year.
No Kids in the Kitchen
The kitchen is also a frequent setting for child burn injuries. While you handle the holiday cooking, keep your child out of the kitchen using a barricade, if possible. The kitchen has a host of burn injury risks, including hot steam, hot pans, crockpots with cords attached and oil splashes. The kitchen also contains other injury risks, such as sharp knives and laceration hazards. Make it a rule to keep kids out of the kitchen while cooking for optimal safety.
Give the Gift of an Injury-Free Holiday
When shopping for gifts for your child this year, double-check the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC’s) recall list. Make sure you are not buying a toy with known defects or injury risks. Defective and dangerous children’s toys can cause serious injuries, including electric shocks, strangulation and eye injuries. Shop safely for your child this season to avoid a trip to the ER on Christmas Day.
Skip the Fireworks
Go for novelties such as party poppers and confetti to ring in the new year rather than fireworks. In 2019 alone, fireworks were responsible for more than 10,000 injuries and 12 deaths, according to the CPSC. One of the most common mistakes is handing a child a sparkler to celebrate the holidays. Sparklers burn at about 2,000 degrees. That’s hot enough to melt some metals; certainly too hot to trust in the hands of your child. Common firework-related injuries are burns, cuts, eye and ear injuries, explosion injuries, and finger amputations. Forego the fireworks this year for maximum child safety.
As a parent, you cannot watch your child 100% of the time. Bumps and bruises will happen. You can prevent more serious child injuries, however, with a few smart safety tips. Enjoy the holidays without a trip to the hospital by celebrating safely.
Alana Redmond is a legal content writer who works with Elk & Elk Co., Ltd, a local personal injury law firm in Cincinnati that specializes in consumer safety and defective products.
