Erin Albertini, MD/MPH Candidate With Julie Belkowitz, MD, MPH, Lyse Deus, and Oneith Cadiz, MD

It’s finally time to get in the holiday spirit!

December has arrived and so have some of the most festive times of the year! Holiday celebrations are often the highlight of a child’s year.

From family gatherings and holiday decorating to opening presents and eating everyone’s favorite foods, December’s festivities are so fun and exciting. While the holidays are mostly joyful, decorations and gifts can potentially cause injuries to children if they are not checked for safety and set up correctly.

As you are decking the halls, wrapping gifts, and preparing for Santa’s arrival this holiday season, here are some tips for keeping your family safe.

Decorations

While decorating for the holidays is very exciting, it’s important to make sure the decorations, Christmas trees, lights, and candles are safe to prevent fires and injuries.

In general, when you are choosing holiday decorations,

Make sure your decorations are labeled as fire resistant.
Avoid sharp or breakable decorations.
Avoid decorations with small pieces.
Avoid decorations that look like food that kids may put in their mouths.

These tips will prevent injuries such as burns, cuts, and choking.

Christmas Trees

When you are setting up your Christmas tree this year, make sure to keep it away from heat sources like fireplaces, ovens, stoves, and heaters to prevent it from catching on fire. It is also important to set up your tree away from doors and walkways so that no one trips and the tree is not knocked over.

You can also prevent your tree from falling over by securing it properly in a stand. If the tree feels wobbly in the stand, you should reposition it in the center and tighten the screws again. You can also try buying a larger or smaller stand to fit the trunk better. All stands should have wide legs to ensure the tree will be stable.

If you are buying a live tree, make sure it is fresh! Buying a fresh tree will help prevent fires in your home. You can tell if your tree is fresh if:

The needles are green and are not dried out.
The needles are hard to pull off the branches.
The needles do not break in half easily.
When you bounce the tree on the ground, the needles should not fall off.
The bottom of the trunk feels sticky.

When you buy your live tree, ask the salesperson to cut a few inches off the trunk so that it can drink water more easily. This keeps your tree fresh for longer and also helps prevent fires. Make sure your tree stand is always filled with water so the tree can drink and stay fresh. When your tree dries out, you should dispose of it quickly so it does not cause a fire.

If you are choosing an artificial tree, make sure it is labeled as fire resistant.

Lights

Holiday lights can be a major source of fires if they are not checked for safety. Before you put up any strings of lights this year, make sure:

All of the bulbs are working
None of the wires are broken or exposed
The sockets are not broken

If you are buying new lights, make sure they are labeled as fire resistant. Don’t plug more than 3 strands of lights into one socket or extension cord. When you leave your house, turn off or unplug all of your lights.

Candles

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, every December, half of fires related to decorations are started by candles. Electric or other artificial candles are the safest. If you are decorating with real candles, here are some tips for safely decorating with candles this year:

Keep candles at least 12 inches away from flammable objects.
Take extra care with candles around your Christmas tree to prevent fires.
Keep candles out of reach of children. And stay in the room while any candles are lit.
Set up candles somewhere that they cannot be easily knocked over.
Blow out the candles before going to bed at night.

Gifts

Giving and receiving gifts is one of the most exciting parts of the holiday season for kids. But if toys and gifts are not age-appropriate, safe, and well-made, they can cause injuries. Here are some tips for choosing gifts for your kids:

Read the labels on the packages for toys! These labels can tell you the age recommendation, whether the toy is safety approved, and nontoxic.
For small children, stick to bigger toys without small parts to prevent choking. For children under the age of 3, toys or detachable pieces of toys should not be able to fit inside a toilet paper tube. If they fit inside, they are too small and are a choking hazard for young kids.
Avoid toys that shoot objects because these toys often cause eye injuries.
Make sure toys are well-made! If a toy is stuffed, check the edge, seams, and any sewn on pieces (like eyes) to make sure they are secure. Stuffed toys also should not contain pellets that kids can choke on. Plastic toys should be made from thick plastic that will not break easily.
Try to avoid toys that contain magnets or small batteries, like button batteries. Magnets and batteries are often swallowed or get stuck in children’s ears or noses. Having batteries stuck in the body can cause serious injury, like burns, digestive tract damage, infection, or bleeding, and lead to hospitalization.
If toys have strings or ribbons, remove them to prevent strangulation.
Loud toys can damage your child’s hearing, so make sure to check toys for volume.
Toys should not be placed in cribs with babies. If you hang toys, like mobiles, above a crib, make sure it is out of reach of the baby.

When your family is unwrapping presents, make sure to quickly throw away all wrapping paper and ribbons to avoid choking or fire hazards.

For more information about Holiday Safety, visit www.healthychildren.org or review suggestions from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You can also view the CDC guidelines or contact the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, a program of the Children’s Trust, at 305-243-9080 or online at www.injuryfreemiami.org. Happy holidays!