From the Staff of Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions
Friday, December 24, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Have a Safe and Happy Holiday
In the frenzy of the holidays, it's easy to overlook safety hazards. But while you're busy wrapping the presents and trimming the tree, it's important to keep your little ones safety in mind.
You already know that toddlers will put anything in their mouths from dog food to Christmas candy. With this in mind you must be extra careful about the decorations that you set out when there is a toddler in the house. A simple bowl of potpourri, a dish of hard candy, or a present decorated with a tiny bell can become a choking hazard for a little one. An easy way to check to see if something is a potential choking hazard is to try and drop it through a toilet paper tube. If it can fall through consider it a hazard and keep it out of little one’s reach.
When wrapping presents little ones love to help, and with close supervision this can be lots of fun. However, clean up carefully after wrapping presents. Young toddlers love scrap pieces of tape, ribbon, and wrapping paper (especially shiny foil papers) and could choke on them. Be careful to clean up your tools as well because, you don't want your child getting his or her hands on scissors and other sharp tools used to cut paper and ribbon. Even the edge on a tape dispenser is sharp enough to cut little fingers.
Stringing lights is a beautiful holiday tradition that requires a few tweaks for safety when little ones are in the house. Sparkling lights are highly attractive to little ones, but they can easily become entangled in them leading to cuts, abrasions, and possibly even strangulation. So if possible keep lights up out of children’s reach or carefully supervise children around the lights. There has also been concern in recent years about lead at the solder joint of Christmas tree lights. While it is true there are trace amounts of lead this is not something to panic about. To keep your children safe do not let them chew on lights (a good idea anyway) and have everyone wash their hands after handling them.
A final concern is holiday plants. They are beautiful and festive but some can be toxic. Your best bet is to talk to your local nursery about which plants are safe to have in the house around small children.
Remember along with any safety precautions, supervision is always essential! If you have any questions or concerns about how to make sure your home is safe for little ones this holiday season call Bona Vista’s Child Care Solutions for free help
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