Put Away the Scissors, and Enjoy the Festivities
Like most people, you probably have a lot going on over the holidays. Getting together with friends and family can be magical, but it’s also overwhelming. Your kids are begging you to put up the decorations, and you’ve committed to making cookies for your book club and pot-luck dinners for all of those holiday parties.
Don’t let your busy schedule make you forget about safety. It’s no fun to think about getting hurt around the holidays, but unfortunately, it’s easy for accidents to happen at this time of year. One of the primary reasons that people show up at the emergency room in December is because they were injured while hanging or removing decorations.
Plus, with extra guests in the home, things can feel chaotic, and you might overlook some situations that can put kids in danger. Paying attention to these safety issues can keep your children safe.
A Fire Is Not The Way To Warm Things Up
According to the National Fire Protection Association, December is prime time for candle fires. Many of them begin with Christmas decorations. Don’t place candles where children can reach them or on unsteady surfaces. Better yet, use flameless candles in all of your decorating.
Those Ornaments Are Not Toys
Many injuries occur each year when kids swallow ornaments. They only have to ingest a fragment to put themselves in harm’s way. Broken glass and button batteries are particularly hazardous. Coin-shaped lithium batteries may also be found in singing greeting cards, toys, illuminated jewelry and flameless tea lights.
Don’t Eat The Pretty Plants
Decorating with natural plants doesn’t put you in the clear when it comes to holiday safety. Eating just 20 holly berries can be fatal for children. The bark and leaves are also toxic. Consuming poinsettias likely won’t kill anyone, but it could make a child sick, and the sap can cause an itchy rash if it gets on the skin.
Even mistletoe isn’t safe. Therefore, it’s best to hang them from the ceiling where kids can’t access them but anyone can smooch a loved one underneath the plant.
What about the Christmas tree? Although firs, pines and cedars are only slightly poisonous, the needles can puncture the intestines. Vacuum frequently if you have a crawler that likes to explore around the tree.
Tell the Kids That Opening Gifts Is Not a Race
Older kids love to tear open wrapping paper and get to their toys. Make sure that they don’t dump out boxes of small items, such as LEGO, around the younger tots. Small items can easily be gobbled up by little ones.
Make the Kitchen Your “Me” Zone
Kids can get burned easily as they’re romping through the kitchen while you’re trying to juggle pots, pans and cookie sheets. Limit your cooking to the stove’s back burners if possible. When you have to use all of the burners, make sure that the handles on the pots and pans are turned inward so that they can’t be jostled by children. Set some ground rules to keep the kids out of the kitchen when you’re using the oven and stove.
Integra Urgent Care has three convenient locations in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, and Las Colinas and accepts walk-ins.