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Home › Articles › Holidays: Winter › Holiday Hazards

Holiday Hazards

Keep Your Little One Safe This Season

By Crystal Patriarche

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According to Doug Mummert, a captain and 23-year veteran of the Phoenix Fire Department, parents should inspect all electrical lights and decorations, especially those that are pulled from boxes from the previous years. "Every year people get their decorations out and prepare to decorate the tree and their house, but they need [to be] inspected first," says Mummert. "If an electrical wire gets nicked or cut, say from a nail when it was hung up the previous year, that exposed wire can be deadly."

Mummert also suggests avoiding extension cords and stringing too many lights together. "People connect lights together with timers and flashers and blinkers, ultimately overloading the wiring," he says. "It heats up, and that's where you get problems."

All the Shiny Ornaments
Tree ornaments are another hazard for babies and toddlers, especially if they are made of glass or hang on the tree by those popular metal hooks.

Ivy Pressendo's 2-year-old son, Steven, asked if he could help clean around the house. She gave him the feather duster and let him do his best. He decided to dust the Christmas tree, and before she could stop him, a glass ornament went flying.

"It shattered against our piano," says Pressendo. "The look on his face was one of utter shock, and he felt terrible. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and I was able to get all the glass cleaned up. I gave him a really big hug and told him he could dust anything except the Christmas tree!"


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