Grandchildren and Fireworks Safety

I love the 4th of July and I love fireworks, but every year there are accidents that permanently injure people and sometimes can even be fatal. One year someone I knew lost his vision in one eye. Another year someone in my home town was hospitalized and had multiple surgeries when a firework exploded in their face. If ever there was a time to make sure children are safely protected from the dangers of fireworks, it is the 4th of July.

Safe Kids has a great fireworks safety page here that you might want to check out. One of the points they make is, “Little arms are too short to hold sparklers, which can heat up to 1,200 degrees. How about this? Let your young children use glow sticks instead. They can be just as fun but they don’t burn at a temperature hot enough to melt glass.”

I have seen a lot of children get burned by sparklers, especially little children whose parents thought that sparklers were safe. Anything that heats up that hot is not safe!

When I was little girl my brother talked my dad into buying fireworks. I don’t remember the name of the device, but it shot something in the air that blew up loudly. During our family fireworks show somehow one of the things got turned over on its side and shot right at me. Fortunately the only damage done was to the  clothes I was wearing. It blew a hole in my jeans but didn’t hurt me. It did scare me though and from then on I watched the show from inside the house through the sliding glass doors.

These days we celebrate the 4th by watching public displays from a safe distance away. We take our lawn chairs and watch as someone who hopefully knows what they are doing orchestrates the show.

How about you? Do you know someone injured in a fireworks accident? Do you celebrate the 4th with fireworks at home or do you go somewhere to watch? Whatever you do, be safe and keep those grandchildren safe, too!

Happy Birthday America!