Love this idea: use a Red Solo cup as a shield for those little hands! Stick the sparkler thru the cup, & the child has a protective shield.
Does anybody else have any great safety ideas? Other than not using fireworks...not going there, ladies!
Looking for helpful ideas....
EDIT: great idea for dry areas....from my Mom: hose down the roof of your home prior to fireworks, & have hoses hooked up to the front/back of your home. :)
EDIT #2: I am fascinated by the responses! Not changing my opinion, Mamas....fireworks are a part of my family's life. :) My son even did his Science Fair project on them!
http://love2dreamdoyou.blogspot.com/2012/06/sparkler-shie...
In this blog, the author tested the cups & found that the sparkler did not melt the cup....unless it was placed inside the cup. Even when the sparkler was placed 1" from the cup's end, it did not scorch the cup.
Be sure to use the thicker quality cups, & as always, have a bucket of water nearby....& supervise those kids!
I like this idea....& I am not fearful of fireworks. I believe in safety 1st, not avoidance. Peace!
& still looking for safety ideas....I'm liking teflon-coated oven mitts, too!
Hot melted plastic will probably do a lot more damage than a sparkler.
I'd rather hold the little hand holding the sparkler.
FIREWORK SAFETY TIPS link:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&...
ETA: I am NOT afraid of fireworks AT ALL. I'm ALL about responsibility and safety. Your information came from a BLOGGER!! NOT a fire department or other official. I stand by MY post - HORRIBLE idea. melting plastic is NOT a good thing!!
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Original post:
I'm sorry - this is a HORRIBLE IDEA!!!
The plastic can melt with the sparks and can end up MELTING on a child's hand. While a good idea IN THEORY - the plastic will react to the heat of the sparklers. A better idea? use last winter's padded glove - as long as IT IS NOT PLASTIC!!! This way the hand is protected by the glove and the spark would most likely go out before it could burn through the glove.
And to top it off? the solo cup would be tempting for them to LOOK INTO and run at the same time? yeah - sparkler in the eyes? NO THANK YOU!!!
We grew up with fireworks. The cups work as a shield!
Each year our parents went over the rules.
If we did not behave with them, we were sent inside while everyone else got to continue.
We also did not force children to hold them.
We set up sparklers in flower pots, so the young ones could see them but not have to hold them.
Some really young children do not like the loud pops and bangs.. so we tried to be sensitive to this.
Have fun!!!!
Thanks so much for this! It's a great idea!
Dawn
I don't mean to be rude, but this sounds scarier to me than just holding a sparkler. At 2000 degrees, I'm quite sure the sparkler is capable of melting the plastic. Even though it is illegal, there are a lot of people in our neighborhood who set off their own fireworks and use half-assed "safety" techniques because someone "blogged" it was safe. I'd prefer to listen to the professionals.
Love that idea! My dad used to do sparklers and other very small fireworks with us. It was fun, but now I am absolutely terrified of letting my kids do any of those things. Not sure how old they'll have to be before I relax, but not any time soon.
I just heard about the solo cup idea from my friend yesterday! She saw it on pinterest. My kids are 3 and 4.5. I am going to let them try sparklers this year. We have talked about wearing shoes, having a bucket of water nearby, an adult will light the fireworks and hand them to the children and supervise at all times. I think with those parameters set, all should be fine.
We will probably get the snap pop firecrackers and snakes too. The kids also want some of the parachute firecrackers and the floating lanterns, but only adults will light all fireworks. Have a happy 4th of July!
A.
we always had a bucket of water handy as well.
No. I wouldn't do this. All I can think of is melting plastic. It doesn't sound safe to me at all.
I'll go there for you.
Playing with fire (works) is just not safe.
Talk to your local fire department and emergency room and they'll tell you all about it.
