Disclosure: collaborative post
While summer is an equivalent for barbecues, parades, and public celebrations, come fall and winter and we are all getting ready for even more fireworks. Unfortunately, as fun fireworks are, when you prepare a show for your children in the back yard, not all people consider safety first. As parents, you should know that illegal fireworks are a no-no and even the legal ones come with their fair share of warnings and precautions. So, in preparation for what is to come, let’s see some fireworks safety tips for kids that all parents should consider!
What is the Problem with Fireworks in the First Place?
Come winter holidays, and you will hear plenty of adults having some sort of love-hate relationship with New Year’s Eve. Besides the troubles of finding the perfect venue for the party or organizing a successful gathering in one’s home, there are those fireworks who never fail to scare or annoy adults, children, and pets.
According to the National Safety Council, fireworks-related incidents can lead to more than just a scare or some nuisance. When misused, they provoke injuries that most of the time require hospitalization and medical interventions. While it is true that most incidents occur because amateurs use professional-grade, homemade or illegal explosive and fireworks, small firecrackers and sparklers come with their dangers as well.
So what can parents do to protect their children (and yes, pets) from a season full of sparks, sounds, fire, and wonder? Here are ten tips for you!
Fireworks Safety Tips for Kids All Parents Should Consider
The first thing to do is mind the legality of fireworks and organizing firework shows in your front yard on in the street during New Year’s eve or other celebrations and parades.
Fireworks come in many shapes and sizes, put on quite spectacular shows, and explode beautifully. Unfortunately, some can be quite dangerous. For this reason, checking local laws before purchasing any type of firecracker would be wise. Keep in mind that legal fireworks come with a label displaying the manufacturer’s name and directions; illegal ones do not come with any tags. Even if someone promises you, the show of your lifetime, M-80s, M100s, blockbusters, or quarter pounders should never go near your home, people, or animals.
However, there are other safety precautions to keep in mind, especially when kids and their pets are around for the New Years’ Eve celebrations!
1. When you buy legal fireworks, make sure you store them away from kids’ reach, in cool, dry places.
2. Avoid buying legal fireworks that are for professional displays; they do not work well with apartments or backyards full of people, children, and pets.
3. Firecrackers, rockets, and sparklers are not for kids. If you let your child use them, make sure they do it outside the house. Supervise them so their faces, hair, and clothes are as far away as possible from their faces.
4. Even if older children have your permission to light up sparklers inside or outside the house, have an adult keep an eye on them and ready to intervene if something bad happens.
5. If parents and their adult friends light up rockets or firecrackers in the yard, always have a bucket of water, a fire extinguisher, or a hose ready to prevent any accidents.
6. Small children should stay away from firecrackers and rockets that emit booming sounds; it is not news that loud noises scare and can even damage the hearing of small children and pets.
7. Fireworks can backfire or discharge in the wrong direction, so make sure everyone steers clear from the “explosion” spot.
8. Supervise kids to avoid pointing or throwing fireworks at other children or adults not even as a joke;
9. When you fire rockets or fireworks, make sure you point them away from the house; keep them away from your hedges, bushes, shrubs, and other landscape elements or flammable substances. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the local fire departments have to deal with more than 50,000 fires triggered by fireworks every year.
10. Do not allow children to pick up the leftover fireworks after you used them, as some can still burn or explode.
11. Pick up all the fireworks leftovers after you used them and soak them into a bucket of water before you put them into the trash can.
12. Keep pets inside the house – and if you can, kids too – during the fireworks proceedings. Fireworks frighten most pets and reduce the risk of them breaking loose and suffer injuries or run havoc around people with burning fireworks in their hands.
Bottom Line
Keeping kids safe from all the dangers of fireworks is the safest way to go about holidays and celebrations. It is important to pay attention at all costs, especially if the little ones insist to attend the party. Remember that pets are also part of the family, so only buy the legal ones, use them carefully, and dispose of them with care!
