A national poll was done to look at firework safety and children, and it found that parents may not be doing enough to make sure their children are safe. The season of fireworks is upon us, and with the fourth of July coming soon, there are going to be a lot of families who are out setting off fireworks. Fireworks can be fun and beautiful, but they can also be dangerous, and it is important that everyone is as safe as possible when they are setting off a light show, and this is especially true for children.

According to Medical Xpress, a national poll was done to look at firework safety, and it raised some concerns that parents need to be doing more to make sure their children are safe. No one wants to see a holiday turn into a tragedy for any child or family.

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This poll was done by the University of Michigan, and it can be read in full here. In the survey, they found that more than half of parents have said that they have done fireworks in the last few years, and the biggest concern that they saw was that one in five parents said that their children did not sit at least 100 feet away from where they were being set off.

However, the poll did find that parents are following some rules with their children, like the following:

  • 98% said that they make sure their children hold a sparkler away from their face.
  • 78% said that their children wear shoes when they set off a sparkler.
  • 75% said that their children only use one sparkler at a time.
  • 63% stated that they stay at least 6 feet away from other people.

Sparklers may be seen as the biggest risk because they are something that is being carried and handled by children, so there is more risk to their health and wellbeing. Those behind the poll stated that parents need to do more to make sure their children are safe.

Over a third of parents stated that they have let their children and teens help set off fireworks, and 1 in 5 said that their children under the age of 10 have helped set off fireworks.

This is not advised, and experts are stating that parents need to make sure that their children are old enough, and mature enough, to understand the safety and dangers of setting off fireworks.

Sources: Medical Xpress, MOTT