Everyone wants to have their holiday vacation be a pleasant one. Ideally, everyone in your family should be warm, safe, and happy. One way to help ensure a merry Christmas is to follow some of these holiday safety tips. These are geared for new parents and for parents who have small children.
Toddlers will grab trees.
Many parents make use of a playpen from time to time. Some parents use the playpen as an easy place for their toddler to take a nap. Others put their toddler safely into the playpen so they can quickly run to the bathroom or heat up a meal. This strategy is one way to know, for certain, that your toddler is safely out of harms way for a moment.
Make sure that your Christmas tree is more than an arm’s length away from your toddler’s playpen. In the blink of an eye, your toddler can manage to pull the entire Christmas tree down upon himself or herself. The easiest way to avoid potential injury is to move the playpen far away from the tree.
Ornaments are tasty.
Babies and toddlers explore their world with their hands and mouths. The ornaments on your Christmas tree are eye-catching. It is typical for toddlers and infants that are able to maneuver around on their own to make a beeline directly for the newest thing in the room. Before long, your little one will have gotten hold of one or more Christmas ornaments. Grab it quick before it goes into their mouths!
The hooks on ornaments can be a choking hazard. You may want to replace the hooks with a loop of yarn, or ribbon. Babies and toddlers that try to chew an ornament can end up breaking it. Those sharp edges will hurt your little one’s mouth. One solution to this problem is to hang all of your Christmas ornaments up higher than your toddler can currently reach.
Gifts can’t go under the tree.
It is going to be impossible for your toddler to avoid opening the wrapped presents that are under the tree. That’s great if it happens to be Christmas morning. The trick is to make sure the gifts stay wrapped until then!
Toddlers can grab and rip wrapping paper. They may try to chew it or eat it, too. The paper can be a choking hazard. It certainly isn’t something your toddler should eat! One solution to this problem is to place the gifts high up on a shelf, or table, where your toddler cannot reach them. Move them to beneath the tree at the last minute. They will stay wrapped up and your toddler will stay safe.
Image by Laura Bittner on Flickr.
Related Articles:
* Keeping Your Kids Safe During the Holidays
* Reasons to Take Good Care of Your Christmas Tree