Christmas holiday safety tips
December 2003

However we should bare in mind that inattention and neglect can provoke unpleasant events turning these beautiful days into a dreadful experience.

With some effort and some useful information we can offer to our children and ourselves the necessary safety and avoid unwanted situations.

Let us see first of all what we can do about our Christmas tree that is present in all families celebrating this time of the year. It is wise to put it in a safe distance from all sources of heat such as a fireplace, mobile heating units of all kind and central heating.

The electrical lights should be checked before they are put on the tree even if they are new and just bought. You should look carefully whether there are damaged wires, that the lamps are functional, that the connections and the jacks are in order.

In case that you are planning to buy a natural tree, try to get a fresh tree that is less of a fire hazard. Cut the bottom part of trunk of the tree you bought because this will allow a better absorption of water. In this way your tree will stay longer fresh and less prone to catch fire.

Gifts and toys are an important part of Christmas celebrations. Take notice and follow carefully the instructions relevant to suitability of toys according to age of children. Certain complex, composite toys can be hazardous to children.

Before you buy a gift for your child or prior to letting a child play with a gift that it was offered, read thoroughly the guidelines and if appropriate for your children show them how to use it correctly.

Gift wrappings can be a source of problems. Strings, bags, ribbons, bows, can be a risk for suffocation and choking to a small child. Children under the age of three years are in danger of choking from small parts (length or diameter less than 4,5 cm) contained in toys or games.

Children less than eight years old can suffocate on broken or uninflated balloons. Babies are in danger of strangulation from strings longer than 30 cm present on pull toys.

During holiday season people consummate a lot of food as well as other specialties at home and elsewhere during visits or at work. Food poisoning can cause severe problems and spoil all the joy of the holiday.

Do not put back in the food a spoon that you have used to taste unless you have washed it. Put cooked food in different areas than raw food. Use different utensils when you are processing them.

Foodstuff and provision that need refrigeration should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. When you want to unthaw meat, poultry or fish do this by leaving them in the refrigerator and not on the countertop.

Some simple indoor safety measures can prove very useful. Light up your fireplace only when you are wake and put out the fire before you go to bed.

Put a protective shield in front of your fireplace to avoid sparks putting fire on newspapers, carpets, curtains or tapestry. Avoid burning wrapping papers in the fireplace as this can induce sudden and intense flash fires.

Smoke detectors in the house and especially outside of the the sleeping rooms can be very useful.

After having a party at home it is better to clean immediately and put order eliminating potential perils for the children. A young exploring child can come in contact with cigarettes or alcohol or even take rests of foods that are inappropriate or dangerous.

When you go for visits to other houses, it is important to bare in mind that may be not all measures for the safety for children have been taken.

In case that you want to let your child for some time to another family, you should be interested to find out whether it is a safe place for you child. For example if people in that house have guns, these should be safely locked and ammunition should be kept in a different place.

Special care is needed as well in case that you let your child to be guarded or taken care for a night or more with somebody not from the family. Additionally to choosing this person carefully, you have to provide them with all necessary telephones to reach you or other members of the family the soonest possible and as well the fire brigade, the police and the hospital.

Definitely the number of measures you can take in order to increase your safety during the Christmas holiday season is long and cannot be all presented here.

By baring in mind these principles you may avoid undesirable events happening and prevent wonderful traditions from becoming unpleasant and even tragic.   

Bibliography:

Consumer Product Safety Commission

American Academy of Paediatrics

National Safety Council