With Easter just a few days away, many people are getting ready to celebrate the holiday with friends and family. You’re probably getting your Easter eggs dyed and making your kids Easter baskets, as well as making plans to meet at a park or at someone’s house for the big Easter egg hunt. As parents, we often get so caught up in the whole celebration that we forget about important Easter safety measures. While you might be thinking, “what harm can come from a bit of Easter fun?” There are still a few Easter safety precautions to think of as you enjoy the weekend:
Easter egg hunt safety
If you’re planning an Easter egg hunt for your children, it’s wise to choose a safe place to hide the eggs since the last thing you want is for children to harm themselves while looking for eggs.
- Place them in places that are not too high and are not near driveways or near the street with active vehicular traffic.
- It is best if you do it in the backyard, but if you do it in the front, have a few adults line the sidewalks so that they can catch any kids who might veer to close to the street.
- If you are having it at a park, do not hide the eggs too far and keep adults at the edges of where you hid the eggs so that kids do not venture off.
- While everyone is looking for the perfect spot to hide the prize egg, use caution when placing eggs in areas that could contain wasps, snakes or other creepy crawlies.
BBQ safety
If you will be BBQing, make sure that the grill is not still hot or in an area that the children can access. You do not want curious hands to touch it while it is hot or while they are out hunting for eggs since they will most likely be distracted on finding that golden egg.
Community egg hunts safety
Many families opt to attend a community egg hunt at the park or at some civic center.
- If this is the case, make sure to check the candy in the eggs just as you would on Halloween for any open wrappers or alterations to the candy. It is better to be safe than sorry since you do not know who is preparing the eggs, or what each egg may contain. It is best to check each of the eggs before you allow your children to have the candy.
- While checking the eggs for “tainted” items is a bit farfetched, the more practical Easter safety reason to thoroughly check the eggs is to ensure that the candy, prizes or goodies your child has found are appropriate for them. Jawbreakers, large caramel and other hard candy could be dangerous for small children.
- Another reason to thoroughly check your children’s goodies is to protect against any known allergies your children may have. Peanut, gluten, you name it – it could be in an egg!
- If “real eggs” are gathered, be aware that they are perishable food items which develop bacteria quickly when kept unrefrigerated. If these eggs have been sitting out for several hours, you might want to think twice before letting your children dive in.
Safety for your vehicle
This might seem like a no brainer, but you would be surprised at how many people actually forget to lock their cars. This wouldn’t be much of an Easter ‘safety’ post without mentioning the crime you’re most likely to be a victim of! Also keep any items out of view. This is especially important if you are gathering in public places like parks to celebrate Easter. Many thieves target public places during holidays because they know that is where people will be. Nothing ruins a holiday faster than having your vehicle broken into!