The holidays are nearly upon us. Does it seem like the year just flew by? As the song goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Families reunite in the joy of the season. Little ones make a joyful noise. But it’s also a time for household accidents and injuries.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) cites approximately 160 accidents a day related just to home decorating. Nearly half of those involve falls, broken bones, concussions, and soft-tissue injuries. Let’s explore why more accidents happen during holidays.
Connecting the dots
Holiday accidents are influenced by several factors, such as:
- Increased activity. Holidays mean more cooking, baking, decorating, and entertaining, all of which can increase accident risks.
- Distraction. Stress, shopping, trips to the airport, meal planning and more make people distracted. This can lead to mishaps, such as forgetting to turn off burners or tripping over electrical cords.
- Decoration hazards. Holiday decorations (lights, candles, and ornaments) can be safety hazards. Frayed cords can cause fires, and small decorations can be choking hazards for toddlers.
Deck the halls
Since decorations play a big role in holiday entertaining, let’s take a look at some safety precautions.
Here are some tips for safer holiday decorating.
- Let kids help with decorating, but only with non-breakable items within their reach. Adults should hang breakable decorations, ornaments, light bulbs, and tinsel out of kids’ reach.
- Watch out for decorative plants that can be toxic to children when eaten. Some examples are mistletoe, holly, Jerusalem cherry, and amaryllis. Keep these away from children and pets.
- Beware of bubble lights, which contain a chemical that’s harmful if swallowed and irritating to skin.
- Keep cans of snow spray out of children’s reach. The powder is hazardous when swallowed or sprayed into your eyes or on your skin.
Just to be on the safe side, keep the number handy for the National Poison Control Center, 800-222-1222.
Don’t play with fire
The best advice for fire safety is to prevent fires from happening at all. Here are some tips:
- Be sure to test smoke alarms and change their batteries before starting holiday decorating.
- Never leave holiday lights on when you’re sleeping or if you are leaving the house.
- Don’t overload indoor or outdoor electrical outlets.
- When hanging lights, check wires for fraying or damage. If damage is evident, discard the lights.
- If you’ll have a living Christmas tree, be sure to keep it watered. Dry trees are more likely to go up in flames. Keep the tree in a sturdy stand that won’t tip over. Most importantly, keep the tree away from all heat sources, such as outlets, candles, radiators, and space heaters.
- If you prefer artificial trees, be sure to purchase one that’s “fire-retardant.”
- Take candles seriously! Stay in the room when candles are burning, don’t leave unsupervised children alone with candles, and be sure to blow them out before going to bed.
- Have your fireplace inspected by a professional before lighting the season’s first fire. Always use a sturdy fireplace screen, or if you’re using a wood stove, keep flammable materials away from it.
- Be sure to have an emergency evacuation plan in case of fire.
Eat, drink, and be safe!
Holidays always have a whole lot of cooking going on, so take these steps to prevent burns:
- Cook on back burners whenever possible, and turn pot handles away from the front of the stove.
- Never leave the oven door open
- Don’t let kids play near the oven.
- Keep kitchen appliances clean to prevent grease fires.
- Here are some other food and drink tips:
- Nuts and small candies can be a choking hazard for toddlers. Keep these out of reach.
- Avoid alcohol poisoning by keeping drink cups out of reach. Even a small amount of alcohol can injure children.
By following these tips, you can help to keep yourself and your family safe during the holiday season.
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