Childproofing Your Home During The Holidays

We celebrate Christmas at my house, but I'll have to admit that I have never been a big Christmas tree fan, nor have I been a fan of lots of Christmas decorations. But over the years we did sometimes decorate our house.

When our daughter was small, we had to be on the look out to make sure that she was safe around holiday decorations. If your children are small and there is a chance that they could place things in their mouths or could possible pull the tree or other decorations down on themselves then it is best to follow these general rules.

1. As with everything that you do with your children, to protect them during the holidays you need to know and consider your children. How old are they, how tall are they, do they understand concepts like hot, sharp, danger. If you say "no," will they listen and understand.

Are your children or any small children that might come to your house, jumpers or climbers? By thinking about how children will interact with your holiday decorations you will be well on your way to keeping them safe.

2. Know and understand the dangers associated with the decorations that you are using.

- Are your decorations breakable?
- What are they made of? Glass, paper,
- Are they a choking hazard?
- Can your decorations be pulled down on top of your children?
- Could your child burn themselves?
- Are there electrical hazards?

Just take a few moments to think about the above hazards and ways to keep your child safe from them and you should be fine.

3. One way to keep small children away from your tree is to buy a smaller tree and install it on a small, stable, well-secured table. Place the tree (what ever the size) in the safest spot you can find. For bigger trees a corner works well or you could put the tree inside a playpen and keep your kids out. Make sure that you remove furniture that a child can use to climb and reach unsafe items.

4. Make sure your kids don't have access to candles and other items that could burn them, like hot Christmas tree lighting, and decorated fire places.

3. Secure all items in a manner that does not let your child grab them or pull items off of tables or mantel pieces.

4. Think of it as less is more, with decorations. Consider rather or not items could become a chocking hazard for your child.

5. Make sure that you properly weigh down and secure your tree so that it is not a tipping hazard.