Thanksgiving is when we come together with loved ones to enjoy a delicious turkey meal and express our heartfelt gratitude for the many blessings in our lives.
Besides all the festivities, Thanksgiving is wrapped around multiple chores that keep parents busy. While parents are juggling numerous tasks, kids, on the other hand, find an escape from their mom’s or dad’s eyes. Most kids binge-watch Netflix and play online games when they find no one supervising them.
Parents must acknowledge that Thanksgiving poses many threats to a child’s well-being.
From barbecue fires to outdoor accidents, anything can happen on Thanksgiving.
Here, we have compiled some Thanksgiving safety tips so that parents can ensure the safety of their loved ones while enjoying the festivities.
Thanksgiving Accidents – A List of Potential Dangers
Do you know that more than 4000 fire accidents happen every Thanksgiving?
As per Beaumont Emergency Hospital USA, 400 to 550 deaths occur on Thanksgiving. The injury and death stats are terrifying.
Thanksgiving is considered the third most dangerous holiday due to the following dangers;
- House Fires – Over 4000 fire accidents are reported on Thanksgiving each year. Such incidents happen due to mishandling of barbeque grills and fireplaces.
- Car Crash & Road Accidents – Drunk driving caused a 33% rise in traffic rules violations on Thanksgiving. Not wearing seat belts can also cause car crashes and road accidents. Generally. 60% of casualties in road accidents occur from not using seat belts, and 42% of casualties are connected to drunk driving.
- Food Poisoning – Cooking Turkey or other meat under an internal temperature of 165°F can cause food poisoning due to Salmonella contamination, as per a report by CDC U.S.
- Soccer Injuries – Playing football is a tradition on Thanksgiving, and football injuries make over 500 people in the U.S go to the emergency room each year.
- Burglaries – Burglaries and robbing are becoming common on Thanksgiving these days.
Thanksgiving Safety Guidelines for Parents
No one wants their child to get sick or injured on Thanksgiving. To save your little ones from the abovementioned threats, here are some Thanksgiving safety guidelines for parents.
Limited Access to Kitchen
Your kitchen has too many blunt and inanimate objects that harm children. Moreover, the stove and grill can cause burn injuries if improper use. The best thing is to keep kids out of the kitchen and barbeque area.
As the ignition of oil and grease causes two-thirds of house fires, it is essential to install and set fire alarms at home.
Tip: Do early preparation of your Thanksgiving food to avoid using knives and other sharp kitchen utensils. Keep kids from the stove. Make sure all fireplaces have protective screens.
Create a Kid-Friendly Zone
Parents can assign a room for their kids to sit and play when the Thanksgiving preparations are being done. You can set up different games and other kids’ stuff to make your little ones enjoy the festivities of Thanksgiving without getting hurt.
Tip: Use colorful decorations to make your child’s room a wonderland, pretty enough to make them stick to their allotted zones. Create a fence around the grill so kids won’t enter the area.
Use Seatbelts While Driving
First of all, say no to drunk driving. Second, wear seatbelts when going out in your car. Though you’re traveling only a kilometer, remember to fasten your seatbelts. The reason why we emphasize seatbelt importance is because there is too much traffic on the roads on Thanksgiving, and a sudden brake could cause injury. That’s why precaution is better than cure.
Tip: First, if you’re driving on Thanksgiving, look out for intoxicated drivers and drive attentively. If you want to go somewhere to spend Thanksgiving, travel early to avoid rush roads and save time. Always have an emergency kit in your car.
Cook Carefully
As mentioned above, most food poisoning cases are caused due to Salmonella contamination. And to avoid such instances, food, especially meat, should be adequately cooked. Further, avoid overeating and over-drinking to enjoy a safe Thanksgiving.
Tip: Follow online cookbooks for meat cooking instructions and use a kitchen thermometer to check if the food is cooked correctly.
Join Kids in Outdoor Activities
Playing soccer is a tradition on Thanksgiving. However, tipping over and getting hurt with a soccer ball are common injuries seen in ERs on Thanksgiving. Football injuries can be severe. That’s why it is essential to be with your kids while they play football on Thanksgiving.
Tip: Choose a lightweight soccer ball for kids. Don’t pick heavy soccer balls because they can cause severe injuries.
Get a Video Doorbell
People expect friends and family on Thanksgiving day. However, with the increasing crime rate, no one should trust the surroundings. You may open your door to some burglars pointing a weapon at you and threatening you. It’s scary, right?
To avoid such a horrifying situation, install a video doorbell at your home to only welcome people you know.
Tip: Install the video doorbell at a discreet location so the people won’t detect they have been monitored.
Use a Parental Control App
Children play, meet friends, and watch movies on mobiles on Thanksgiving. Many Thanksgiving dangers surround your child, including kidnapping, cyberbullying, stalking, and many more. To ensure the safety of your children, install a reliable parental control app on their phones and track their online and offline activities. We suggest PegSpy.
Using PegSpy, parents can track their kids’ whereabouts and locate them 24/7. Moreover, the surround recordings help guardians ensure the safety of their teens and tweens. Parents can also put restrictions on internet browsing to create a healthy cyberspace.
Takeaway
Thanksgiving is indeed full of chores and being busy as a bee. It’s not only cooking that keeps parents occupied but other things, too, including decorating the home, entertaining guests, and ensuring things go well. Kids, on the other hand, play, watch movies, and do other fun activities to enjoy the festivities of Thanksgiving day. Remember that your child can get hurt when you’re not supervising them. That’s why using a parental control app such as PegSpy is an effective remedy to ensure your kids’ safety by all means.
