Ask Mike: Staying safe over the holidays
Hey Guys,
The holidays are a time for families and friends to come together. But they also mark a time when parents and pet owners should be extra careful. For as fun as this time of the year can be, there are many ways in which children and pets can injure themselves.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) hosts a stellar article that explains how to be prevent disasters, both small and large. The SPCA has a simliar blog for furry friends. Below, some of the highlights for having a fun and safe holiday season.
For those using an artifical Christmas tree, be sure to look for trees that are labeled “fire resistant.” Even then, always keep it a safe distance from the fireplace. If you’re using a live tree, the AAP suggests you check for freshness. The less fresh a tree is, the dryer it is. And the dryer it gets, the easier it will become a fire hazard.
Keep the tree stand full of water, but also make sure the tree stand is covered for the safety of your pets. According to the SPCA, tree water can be “infested with fertilizer, bacteria, and other harmful elements.” You definitly don’t want your pets drinking it. You’ll also want to make sure cats don’t climb the tree, tip it over, and possibly hurt themselves or others. Delicate and breakable ornaments should be placed higher on the tree.
And then there’s the eggnog. When the nog comes out, you gotta be careful. Kids left unattended can scoop it up and slurp it down. In fact, according to hospitals, incidents of alcohol poisoning in children rise during the holidays–in part due to more parties and half-empty drinks being left out. Same deal with dogs and cats — alcoholic beverages are not good for pets. As for food, the SPCA writes that macadamia nuts and chocolate, both holiday favorites, can be especially dangerous for dogs, so try to keep those out of reach.
Got any other tips on staying safe over the holidays? Please leave a comment below.
Thanks for reading,
This piece originally appeared on Yahoo! Buzz Log.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
- Rating:
(19 votes, average: 3.74) - Permalink
- Comments (27)
Loading ...
Subscribe
Agreed!
Have a wonderful holiday everybody <3
Sure one has to be extremely careful this season. It beats me to imagine that its a season to be merry, yet others plan on how to harm, hurt or steal from others. My neighbor had a case of an armed guy coming to her house in form of a delivery guy, so all hands have to be on deck for safety and precautions. Have a safe and happy holiday y’all
Have a merry Christmas everybody! and be safe
Nice reminder, nice article, glad I read it.
Oh !! I think this post is very useful.!!!
Also keep valuables out of your car. Or conceal them as you are out shopping.
Park under lights if you are shopping at night.
hmm I never knew eggnog was alcoholic. We don’t drink it anyway but it’s nice to know…
Great article, thanks for posting it.
I decided to look at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) website, and one tip that I thought was a good one was this;
” Remember that the homes you visit may not be childproofed. Keep an eye out for danger spots.”
MERRY X-MAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR, MIKE
Thank you, this post was nice:) Happy holidays everyone and stay safe!
I hope all of you have a Very Merry Christams!
Heidi
Everybody stay safe this Holiday Season, Remember there is always someone here you can talk too! This is why I love this site so much!
Your friend,
Heidi
When sleding, before you go down, pick a path and make sure no one is in your way. If you are going to hit someone try to steer away or roll out of the sled. If you are going to be hit jump away fast!
Me and my friend already hit a kid on accident because he was just sitting there in the middle and he bit his tonge and got a bloody nose, because I didn’t move out of the way fast enough.
Everyone needs to just use common sense and not think nothing can happen to you. Although this article is based on christmas, there are many of misfortunate death incidents that come near the holidays.Be safe when going out at night, try not to go out so late, being a safe responsible driver, try to anticipate other drivers mistakes,
try not to get into problems or fights with others, ect.. Some people think they are indestructable
Be safe everyone and be thankful for each day!
Thanks yahoo for keeping us safe!
Be careful while skating, so you won’t dislocate your shoulder like i did today.
felices y sanas fiestas de Navidad con mucho cuidado con los Niños.
Wear sunblock. It’s bloody hot here in Australia…
I learned the hard way to keep meds wayyyy out of reach, especially when at someone else’s home. While at my in-laws over the holidays one year, my daughter 5 at the time had a fever when we arrived. The day before leaving I had put all the toiletries on the counter for packing in the morning, including her medicine, which was Tylenol. She grabbed it, came to me, took the “child proof” cap right off and tipped that sucker back. I was a little slow getting up as I was mongo pregnant with my son. She didn’t get much of it thank God but still, I learned a valuable lesson. My husband, not having to suffer with a huge belly, got right up and grabbed it from her. She did get in trouble, as before she tipped it back, I told her she didn’t need it and to give it to me. She disobeyed. But the fact that she was able to get the meds off the counter was my fault.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
So true, my dog, I don’t know what she did, but she managed to cut her mouth. Now she has this huge cut on her mouth and nostril area.
I free feed my cat during the holidays so he is less tempted to sneak high fat treats from around the house. He burns up the extra calories beating about in the boxes and wrapping.
Also, cats love boxes and bags. My cat gets a collection of his own to occupy him which I keep across the room from the tree and in the bedroom. It keeps him away from the tree. I also give him a couple of 2 foot lengths of hard cellophane to chase around and use it to play with me. I wave it in the air and he loves it, as it resembles a bird. It can keep him occupied for hours…..
@ Jamie
Eggnog is not alcoholic, at least not the kind you buy at grocery stores. Most often during the holiday season people will add alcohol to eggnog at parties or gatherings. In my family, none of us really drink, so we just have eggnog and add milk or Half & Half to it instead of alcohol.
i am a very hard worker and have just started a stone buisiness. my children done without xmas to help.i am out of money didnt have much to start with. if you can help i would owe you my life. i need a couple pieces of equipment to. happy new year 25000 would get me going
i just cant wait for the new years to start.
Its a good idea to stay off the roads during late friday and especially saturday nights and holiday nights all year long ( for example holidays such St Patrick’s day, Memorial and Labor day weekend) because between midnight and awhile after bar closing time your more likely to get hit by a drunk driver.
When they close school due to weather or theres a weather warning, DON’T GO OUT. A few years ago my friends flipped there car on New Year’s day to drive to K Mart and buy some makeup, and my friend somehow miraciously had one of those rare cases where the only reason she wasn’t killed because she didn’t have her seat belt on. And this year a girl I went to school with tried to drive home with her man, from a wedding during a blizzard couldn’t see the road and wound up in a ditch and tried to walk to her nearby home through a field and she wound up loosing a shoe, having minor frostbite and having to call 911 to rescue her usuing the GPS on her phone. They should have stayed close to the wedding, and it wouldn’t have happened, but when she got in the accident she should have stayed in her car and called for help, you deffinetly never try and cut through a field.
hey, great post! I too have a blog about coupons…