Happy Birthday America!

Happy Independence Day everyone! Independence Day is a day in which we take time to celebrate our founding fathers, our soldiers, our country and our flag. While your out enjoying the fireworks, grill, and games with your families it’s also great to remember that safety still comes first. More than often we put safety on a back burner during the holidays, unconsciously putting children in dangerous situations.

Approximately 87% of Americans plan to grill food outside this Independence Day, if you happen to be one of them here are some tips to help keep you and your child safe. First, before you even start the grill make sure that it’s clean and doesn’t have any gas leaks. Having leftover grease on the grill could be the cause of a fire and residue from past uses of the grill can cause people to get sick. Having a potential gas leak could be very dangerous because of the risk of an explosion or a fire erupting. Secondly, keep decorations away from your grill. People always hang decorations around the house and outside for the 4th of July, however, be cautious of where you place them. Putting decorations over or anywhere near the grill can provide fuel for a fire, especially if they are made of artificial fibers. Lastly, in case a fire were to break out, it would be smart to have a spray bottle of water and a fire extinguisher nearby. Even keeping just one of those two things nearby could lower the risk of someone getting severely hurt and having an awful July 4th.

Another Independence Day activity that poses a threat to children is swimming. However, even though swimming can be dangerous there are ways your child could enjoy the pool and stay safe this July 4th. First, never leave your child unattended while they are in the pool, regardless of whether they can swim or not. Children are left unattended in the pool often because parents believe that just because they can swim they will be fine. Even the best swimmers are in danger of drowning due to cramps, chocking, shallow water blackout, exposure time and more. Leaving a child unattended in the pool is a dangerous and irresponsible act to please watch your kids no matter what this Independence Day. Secondly, keep your child away from drains and make sure that there are secure drain covers on the drains in the pool. Getting in a pool that has a missing, loose, or broken drain cover can be very dangerous. If a child does not recognize that it’s a drain without a secure cover and gets close to it they can be sucked into it by the swimsuit and get stuck. This is another one of the many ways a child could drown or get injured in the pool.

Another popular July 4th activity is fireworks. Fireworks are fun, loud and colorful but their also very dangerous. First, only light ONE firework at a time and quickly get away from it. Many people think that the can do four or five at a time and still have time to get away. Fireworks can go off very quickly, at the most you have 15 seconds to get away from those fireworks before they explode. Also lighting more than one firework can cause a dangerous chain reaction between the explosives if they are too close. It can also cause too much smoke and chemicals to be released into the air making everyone in the area to have a negative reaction to it. Secondly, use fireworks outdoors and in a clear area; away from buildings and vehicles. On Independence Day a lot of people are seen lighting fireworks in their driveway only about 10- 15 feet away from their houses and only 20-45 feet away from others homes as well. This is very dangerous and can cause not only your house to set on fire but also for other homes to be set on fire as well. It’s much safer to go to an area where there are no close trees with short moist grass to go light fireworks.

Enjoy a safe Independence Day with these few tips this year. Enjoy the time spent with your family and friends while celebrating our wonderful countries and the freedom it has gifted us with. Have a happy Independence Day everyone!