Elf and safety at home — during the most chaotic time of the year
Pic: iStock
Christmas can make home somewhat unrecognisable for children. There’s the bauble-laden tree, the festooned decorations, mysterious brightly-coloured packages, visitors coming and going, and different and lovely food.
With its wonderfully chaotic upending of normal life, it's a time when adults need to keep an eye on little ones — so tears and trips to A&E don’t become part of the experience.
Before you buy, check packaging for age-appropriateness and the CE mark, which shows the item meets EU safety standards.
“Buy toys from reputable retailers. Beware of buying online or from street-traders,” advises Gráinne Griffin, communications director at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
If shopping for older children, Griffin says consider younger siblings in the family. “Something with many small parts, left lying around, could pose a danger to younger children.”
Watch out for hand-me-down toys that your child might come across when visiting a relative’s home, says Dr Abigail Collins, HSE national clinical lead for Child Health Public Health. “Grandparents might have a bucket of toys for children to rake through. Look to ensure they’re safe. There might be sharp-edged, broken pieces that could be a choking hazard.”
Lots of children wake up on Christmas morning to a scooter or bike, skates or skateboard under the tree. Make sure the correct protective equipment is there too – with the CE mark. “Sometimes children are led by fashion and style, but a helmet, knee pads, must have the CE mark to show they’re up to standard,” says Griffin.
Not all surprises are good — such as button batteries. Over the last three years, the National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC) has had 300 calls about these. According to the NPIC 2022 Annual Report, last year saw 86 enquiries related to batteries — 94% due to accidental exposures with almost 91% involving ingestion. Almost eight in 10 queries related to cases of children 10 years and under.
“People aren’t aware of the seriousness of battery ingestion,” says Nicola Cassidy, NPIC specialist in poisons information.
Button batteries – present in many gadgets, toys, LED decorations — can cause choking and burns. “If swallowed whole, they can get stuck anywhere in the gut. In some cases, surgery is needed to remove the battery and to manage complications. Button battery ingestion is classified as a poisoning emergency.”
Be sure to buy gadgets or toys with a battery compartment that screws down, secure enough to need a screwdriver to access. Griffin points out that, while batteries in toys are “required to be quite tightly locked down”, children may be at greater risk of accessing button batteries in TV remotes/car keys. “People often hand bunches of car keys to children to play with.”
Sometimes hazards lurk in bright places. While LED tea lights are a safer alternative, many of us love candles. “Ensure they’re on a stable, heat-resistant surface, nowhere near soft furnishings or pets,” warns Griffin.
Keep an eye on Christmas decorations and crackers, all of which can contain moveable parts or small pieces that pose a choking hazard for curious toddlers. And think again before gifting a small child a snow globe, says Cassidy. “You generally buy these without information about what’s in them, yet some can contain anti-freeze — considered toxic if a child’s able to break it and drink the liquid. We’ve had a small number of calls about snow globes.”
Chances are someone will gift you a reed diffuser. Cassidy recommends storing it out of sight and reach of children. “We’re not always sure what’s in reed diffusers, particularly if people throw away the packaging and label. They can contain essential oils [or] petroleum-based ingredients. Sometimes they have high concentration of alcohol/toxic alcohol,” she warns.
If a substance contains a hazardous mixture, it must have a UFI (Unique Formula Identifier), 16-character code, showing on the label, and be registered with the European Chemicals Agency. “It’s really useful information for the NPIC — we can look up the code, check ingredients, and formulate a treatment plan.”
While we might want to smell nice if we’ve got smallies at home, we need to think twice about where we place these Christmas gifts. Not under the Christmas tree, says Cassidy. “They all contain high concentrations of alcohol — even a small amount ingested could cause poisoning in a little child.”
Tis the season to be merry, but there’s nothing merry about your child accidentally imbibing what the grown-ups are drinking. “If having a party, clear away all alcohol before going to bed. Alcohol in the bottom of glasses is a risk to children if they’re up early the next morning,” says Cassidy.
And watch where you put your cigarette, vape, or nicotine replacement therapy. “They all contain nicotine — any amount ingested is potentially toxic to a child.”
Ensure that firelighters are not stored at ground level, where small hands can access them. “Firelighters are made of paper or wood material, but they’re soaked in paraffin, which, if swallowed, can cause a range of symptoms. If a child then vomits, they could inhale fumes into their lungs,” says Cassidy.
Holly, mistletoe, the Christmas or Jerusalem cherry – bright berries are magnetic for small children. “If they swallow the berries, they could potentially be poisonous depending on the amount taken,” says Cassidy, who urges contacting the NPIC if a child has eaten any amount of a plant. “Plant identifier apps aren’t always accurate. Don’t rely on a website for poisoning advice.”
Most NPIC poisoning enquiries in 2022 involved children up to age 14, with over 40% aged between one and four years. Cassidy says, if poisoning occurs, symptoms don’t always manifest immediately. “They can be delayed. We encourage always ringing NPIC – we can advise on what to look out for, what to do, whether the child needs to go to hospital.”
She also warns against encouraging anyone to vomit. “It’s the wrong thing to do. If a corrosive substance has been swallowed, it’ll burn on the way down and on the way up.”
t’s likely you’ll find yourself at some stage administering a dose of Calpol or ibuprofen. Children coming in unsupervised contact with these medicines is the top reason for calls to the NPIC, says Cassidy. “Parents in the child’s bedroom at night giving medicine, they forget, leave it on the dressing-table – next day the child accesses it.”
Parents can also have a false sense of security about medicine bottle lids being child-proof, when in fact they’re only child-resistant, which simply means delayed access. “Given time, a child will open it.”
It’s totally within the Christmas spirit for parents of small children to ask guests not to place bags on the floor. “Ask them not to store any medicines or cosmetics in their suitcase on the floor. Grandparents in particular might have medicine in their bag,” cautions Cassidy.
You’re not Scrooge if you’re going to a family gathering, or you’ve visitors coming, and you ask ‘is everyone well’ – and request they stay home if not. Collins says parents with young babies — or grandparents whose school-going grandchildren are visiting — can sometimes feel embarrassed asking the ‘Are you well?’ question.
With infections like RSV doing the rounds and affecting 90% of children by the time they’re two years of age, Dr Collins says: “There’s really no need to shy away from asking ‘is everyone well’, or to say ‘please stay home’ if someone isn’t.”
You’re there, but you’re not. Collins says when we’re in large family gatherings, we need to know who’s looking after the children. “It can slip under the radar when we’re busy, distracted, cooking, chatting. Sometimes, when adults are in a big group, there might be nobody minding the children. Mum thinks dad is, dad thinks the grandparents are.
“Toddlers are very mobile but not very sensible. You need to have your antenna up. If you’re not able, find another responsible person who’ll be focused on the child.”
- NPIC public poisons helpline: 01 809 2166, 8am-10pm, seven days a week.
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