Top 5 Safety Tips For Heading into the Holidays

Top 5 Safety Tips For Heading into the Holidays

The holiday season is a time for celebrating with family and friends and making memories. It’s also a time of year when you need to be extra vigilant about safety.  

Nychelle “Nikki” Fleming of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission joined us on our latest “Keeping Kids Safe” podcast to offer guidance and tips on toy and general safety around the house during the holiday season.

Here are Nikki’s top five tips to keep in mind for the holidays:

  1. Review age labels on toys as a guide for choosing age-appropriate toys. Age labels on toy packages are there for a reason. They are useful guidelines for choosing age-appropriate toys that not only meet the skill and ability of a child but also take their safety into consideration, especially young children under the age of 3.
  2. Keep small toy parts away from children. According to Nikki, the latest data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows around 149,000 hospital emergency room toy-related injuries and nine toy-related deaths. Ensure that small toy parts are kept out of reach from children or toss them away.
  3. Check to make sure your Christmas tree is fresh. Stamp the tree on the ground a couple of times and see how many needles fall out. If a good amount of needles are released, take it as a sign of dryness and look for a fresher one as to ensure you don’t run into a fire hazard. If artificial trees are more of your thing, look for a fire-resistant label on the tree.
  4. Keep the Christmas tree well watered daily. A tree lacking the necessary amount of water will inevitably turn dry. According to the CPSC, a dry Christmas tree burns faster than a newspaper. Next time you fill up your water cup, remember to fill up an extra cup for your tree too!
  5. Never leave the kitchen and cooked foods unattended. Cooking fires are the #1 cause of residential fires. Make sure at least one adult monitors the kitchen at all times while cooking. Ensure young children are safe by keeping them out of the kitchen and away from cooked food unless under the watchful eye of an adult. You could also learn more tips on how to child-proof your home by reading our recent blog post!

Be sure to consult more informational resources on our blog and subscribe to the “Keeping Kids Safe” podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts!


December 17, 2021