As a fun family activity, watching the fireworks each year is a simple idea to keep children entertained and get them enjoying the outdoors. While attending a public display means you can relax and enjoy a spectacular show, arranging your own display at home requires a lot more care and attention. If you are wanting to purchase fireworks for sale that are ideal for yard or garden use, you’ll want to make safety a top priority. To help, here is a short guide on making your display as childproof as possible.
Create a safe perimeter
If you plan to have plenty of rockets and ground based fireworks to be set off, you’ll need to follow guidance on keeping a safe distance. While everyone will want to have a good view, it’s vital to set a perimeter away from where the fireworks are placed. This should be a minimum of 5 metres away from the fireworks as not only will this ensure your children are away from them being lit, but also a safe distance from any debris that may scatter. To help with the perimeter, you can place a physical barrier for everyone to stand behind such as a rope or line so that this is clear.
Keep fireworks out of reach
When either being stored or set out ready for use, you should ensure all fireworks are out of reach of children. These items are highly combustible and even if not ignited, they should not be handled by children. Either keep stored at a safe height away from reach or locked away. When keeping these nearby to use on the day of your display, keep away from where children are spectating.
Ensure children are wearing gloves when holding sparklers
Sparklers are great fun to hold and even write your name in the sky, but caution should always be taken with them. They burn extremely hot meaning severe burns and injury can occur if not handled correctly. Any children under the age of 5 should not hold any sparklers, instead, an adult must hold these for them. Children should wear gloves to protect their hands from any sparks and always hold the sparkler at arms’ length too. This ensures the ignited end is away from clothing, hair, and skin that could cause damage.
Supervision at all times
Supervising children at your display at home is crucial as it can take only a second for safety issues to arise. While you may have everything else in place and explained to children the rules, you must supervise to ensure this is being followed. If you then notice any problems, you can deal with this quickly and remind children why safety is so important with fireworks and sparklers. Once any firework is lit, it is important both adults and children do not approach them, even if it hasn’t set off or appears to have failed.
Dispose of fireworks and sparklers correctly
Always keep a bucket of water nearby to allow for the safe disposable of both fireworks and sparklers. When using the latter, advise children to place the sparkler when finished into the water, hot end first. Even if it appears the sparkler is finished, it will still be extremely hot, so place immediately into water to fully extinguish. Once your display has finished, ensure only an adult disposes of unused fireworks by fully submerging in water and any debris is properly extinguished before putting in the bin. While children may want to help with clearing up, it is better to stay safe and avoid any unnecessary accidents.