I am paranoid about some things.
Like germs (technically called bacteria, but that shows you my paranoia – germs sounds more sinister. At least I don’t call them cooties).
I am not paranoid about other things. I can’t think of any examples. It just sounds good. Parallel structure and symmetry and all.
But here’s something every parent should be concerned about this holiday season: Christmas Safety.
It wasn’t until my 10-month old shoved a fist-ful of pine needles into his mouth this morning that I thought, Duh, you didn’t baby-proof the Christmas tree! And suddenly I was paranoid about Christmas trees. They became green trolls waiting to gobble up small children with their needle-like claws.
I set about thinking of ways I could baby-proof our Christmas decor. I googled a little, and thought of some myself… here’s what I came up with:
- Your Tree May Be Insecure! No, you don’t need to take get a tree psychologist, but imagine a 6 foot tree falling on your baby? Get a furniture strap to secure your tree to the wall. Or, as T Rex Mom says, you can get a mini tree and put it up on a table! Great idea!
- Popcorn! Those little crunchies are a choking hazard! Just plan on eating them this year instead of stringing them.
- Ornaments! Okay I am not going to tell you to do away with ornaments – but let’s consider the various dangers. First, glass ornaments – can break and shatter into a zillion pieces. Also many ornaments are made with small parts that are simply glued on and can fall off. And be eaten. Lastly, unless your ornament is glass or unpainted wood, it’s hard to say if they are non-toxic. Be sure to keep the ornaments away from baby!
- And the hooks! Sharp choking hazard! We use the large curly hooks that don’t have pointy edges, which is at least a little safer. But you could also use short ribbons to tie your ornaments to the tree and avoid hooks all together!
- Branches! Babies will want to crawl up to the tree – it’s all fun and games until they get their eye poked out. So trim those branches up a little higher. It just means you’ll have to pile up the presents to hide the trunk – but who’s complaining about that?
- Pine Needles – you’ll be happy to know that pine needles actually have a lot of Vitamin C in them. I’m not suggesting you let your baby eat them like mine tried to this morning, and certainly call poison control if your child ingests any non-food item. But at least they aren’t supposed to be toxic.
- Lights! Please, please keep baby away from the sockets and double check all those light strings for loose bulbs, frays etc.
- Poisonous Plants – Remember that mistletoe, holly, amaryllis, Jerusalem cherries, and the ubiquitous poinsettia are all poisonous harbingers of Christmas. Please keep them out of reach. Or better yet, buy fake ones.
Have I scared you sufficiently? I do draw the line at corralling the Christmas tree with a play yard. That just kind of ruins the mood, in my opinion. And what would those holiday photos look like, after all. See, I told you there was something I was not paranoid about…
Now go enjoy yourself this Christmas, enjoy your littlies, and of course, enjoy a safe holiday!
Do you have additional Baby Safety tips for the holidays to add? Leave a comment – I may just include you with a link to your blog if you do! 🙂
sunnymum
Tuesday 21st of December 2010
Our apartment can only fit a table top tree, which is up high, but still has just felt ornaments that I made. Good reminders, especially about the plants!
T Rex Mom
Tuesday 21st of December 2010
We put our tree on a card table - it's well out of the reach of the baby and the toddler cannot really get to it to pull it down. It is only a 4-5 foot tree, too. We are starting to move away from hooks - a little each year. And no plants accessible to kids. All this has just made life so much easier - rather than putting the tree in a cage! Thanks for the tips. We all need a friendly reminder.The photo of Asher is charming. It gets funner and funner every year!
aarontori
Tuesday 21st of December 2010
I'm really paranoid about unplugging the tree at night before we go to bed. We did popcorn this year, but it's okay because she's only 3 months old. Next year though she'll be a year old and definitely wanting to grab everything. We have an apartment and aren't supposed to mail anything to the walls, so we may have to either do a little tree or not have one. I once saw a really cute idea for a felt Christmas tree that you can use command sticky things to attach to the walls. We might do that for a year or two, we'll see.
stacythemagnificentm
Tuesday 21st of December 2010
yeah, we tried the popcorn/cranberry thing this year... quickly nixed it LOLotherwise the kids have done great. no unwrapped presents so far and i like mine wrapped and under as soon as the tree goes up. ive actually considered getting a small tree that the kids can touch with handmade ornaments. might do that next year! also would love one of those nativity sets that are for babies...other than to unplug the christmas tree when you go to bed, cant think of anything else!!