So, here we are again. Right in the middle of the holiday season. This beautiful time of year when we have extra lights and candles and glass ornaments decorating the house. Regardless of which, if any, holidays you and your family celebrate, chances are your child will be exposed to pretty, new, shiny things to discover.
When you’re decorating, and you have crawlers or toddlers in the house (whether they’re yours or they’re visiting), you’ll want to take certain precautions to protect both the babes and the pretty decor.
Once you decorate, crawl around on your knees and investigate the world from that angle.
- Look for low hanging glass or breakable ornaments and move them higher. Put unbreakable ornaments on the lower branches and make sure they are not hung with metal hooks. A loop of ribbon can work instead.
- Look for dangling extension cords and lights that the child could reach. Sometimes just sliding a piece of furniture over a couple of inches in front of the cords is all you need.
- Look for tablecloths that could be pulled down, causing plates and centerpieces to fall.
- Look for easy access to holiday plants. Poinsettias are not as poisonous as people think. It takes like 50 leaves to get a stomach ache, but it does have a property to it that can aggravate a latex allergy. Holiday plant berries are of much more concern (misteltoe, holly, etc).
- Keep bowls of nuts and hard candies up and out of reach, as these can be choking hazards.
- During parties, ask party goers to keep alcoholic beverages up and out of reach.
Also, during parties, someone must keep an eye on where toddlers are at all times. All it takes is a few seconds of everyone thinking someone else has the baby, when the toddler can get into a bad situation.
Have a Happy Safe Holiday season.
