Deck the Halls (and Your Entire Home) With Kids in Mind

We all know to hang the stockings by the chimney with care; however, that’s not the only caution we should be taking while decorating our homes for the holiday season.

“Decorations play a major role in making the holiday season such a special time of the year, but unfortunately, many holiday staples can pose serious physical and health risks for children,” says pediatric emergency medicine physician Teresa Romano, MD, with Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. “It’s important to keep safety in mind when decorating your home to prevent an unwanted trip to the emergency room.”

Follow these tips to avoid turning what is supposed to be the merriest time of the year into the scariest.

When spreading the holiday spirit throughout your home, keep your eye out for:

• Choking hazards: If you have young children, either avoid decorations that are tiny or have small parts or keep them out of reach. Dr. Romano says “A good rule of thumb for avoiding choking hazards is to only use decorative items that are larger than a child’s fist.”
• Sharp or breakable items: For families who have small children, either switch to plush décor or make sure any of your delicate items are placed out of a child’s reach.
• Appetizing décor: Younger kids can easily mistake decorative items as real so avoid trimmings that resemble candy or food that may tempt a young child to eat them.
• Beloved holiday plants: Plants like mistletoe, holly, bittersweet, Jerusalem cherry, and amaryllis are toxic if eaten. Place these potentially poisonous holiday plant decorations out of reach of children. If you think your child was poisoned, call your physician or Poison Control, 1-800-222-1222, right away.

Being able to decorate your home as an adult with things your parents or grandparents decorated their homes with when you were a child adds a sentimental feel to the holidays. However, many older decorations have lead in them, which is extremely dangerous to children.

“Some old, beautiful decorations that are glass may have lead in them,” Dr. Romano says. “If a child gets ahold of the lead-based ornament and ingests it, they’ve ingested not only a sharp piece of glass, but one with lead in it which is extremely poisonous to them. They could also break the item and find themselves in the Children’s ER with a serious cut.”

Lead may also be present in other decorations so make sure to:

• Choose tinsel or artificial icicles of plastic or nonleaded materials.
• Light strands may contain lead in the bulb sockets and wire coating, sometimes in high amounts. Make sure your lights are out of reach of young children who might try to put lights in their mouths, and wash your hands after handling them.

The centerpiece of many families’ holiday season comes with some rules:

• Make sure Christmas trees are firmly attached to the wall because they can easily topple or be pulled and knocked down by kids if not properly secured.
• Keep delicate bulbs or other breakable ornaments toward the top of the tree, leaving room at the bottom for the ones that are safer for young kids.
• Choose shatterproof or felt ornaments for your tree instead of glass bulbs – or have your children hang the safer ornaments.
• Do not put ornaments that have small parts or metal hooks, or look like food or candy, on the lower branches where small children can reach them.
• Trim protruding branches at or below a child’s eye level, and keep lights out of reach.

Keep children away from button batteries and lithium coin batteries, which can cause life-threatening injuries if swallowed. “Button batteries are extremely dangerous for kids and can cause damage to the esophagus if ingested by young children,” Dr. Romano says.

• Secure battery compartments in electronic toys, string lights, flameless candles, light up necklaces and musical ornaments and books.
• Wrap small batteries in tape before disposing of them.
• Be aware of singing holiday cards that contain button batteries.

Set up dedicated play areas that keep children and pets at a safe distance from your holiday decorations. Use baby gates or arrange furniture strategically to create natural barriers around the tree and other displays, keeping curious hands away. Add electrical safety by installing timers on holiday lights and covering exposed cords with protective casings. Position decorations away from furniture that could be climbed, and ensure all barriers are stable enough to prevent determined explorers from reaching the festivities.