This is why the Personal Safety Division of diversified technology company 3M has compiled a list of top tips to help you keep your children happy and healthy this year.
1. Protect their ears – fireworks are considerably louder than the normal day-to-day sounds that children will hear. In fact, they are more than twice as loud in terms of decibel level as road traffic and can be louder than a gunshot! Ear defenders are a practical way to reduce the distressing and potentially harmful noise of fireworks at the same time as keeping little ears warm.
2. Wear gloves – It may seem the most obvious of all, but children can easily become irritated by clothing that doesn’t fit or is uncomfortable. It is best to provide gloves with fingers rather than mittens so they can get full use of their hands, especially when playing with sparklers. This will reduce the risk of them removing gloves altogether.
3. Reflective clothing – bonfires and firework displays are usually held when it is dark, and if attending a large event where crowds flock it is best to ensure you equip your children with some form of reflective clothing so that you can keep an eye on them. Reflective tape is a cost effective way of adapting their usual winter clothes.
4. Footwear – the best choice of footwear for a fun-packed bonfire night is either wellies or boots. This will ensure that their feet stay nice and cosy as well as protecting them from any embers or other harmful firework debris that may be on the floor.
5. Sand and water – if you are hosting your own bonfire night make sure that you provide buckets of sand or water for when sparklers go out. It may look like they are no longer harmful but the metal is still scorching hot, and it will prevent children picking them back up off the floor.
…And don’t forget, if you are buying your own fireworks make sure they are marked ‘BS7114’ – the British Standard marking for fireworks.
In addition to raising safety awareness for children on Bonfire Night, 3M offers Peltor Kid Passive Ear Defenders, which are a cost-effective way for parents to help ensure their children are protected against and not frightened by noise from fireworks.
They are available in attractive and vibrant colours of high visibility neon pink or green for just £12.44 plus VAT (RRP).
For details and to purchase a pair, visit www.3Mdirect.co.uk
Competition
For your chance to win a pair of Ear Defenders for Bonfire Night, just fill in the Rafflecopter form below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
