Doctors Say Sparklers Are A Huge Threat To Kids, Suggests Using Bubbles And Pom-Poms Instead

And here I have to wonder how I survived to adulthood.

According to this, doctors are warning parents against letting their kids play with sparklers on the 4th of July, saying that burns and other injuries are just too risky –

To avoid the risk of injury, you should give your kids bubbles, glow sticks and pom-poms to play with this Independence Day. Those things are safer and almost just as fun.

Note the operative phrase in that sentence: “Almost just as fun.”

Sure. And a cow turd almost looks like a candy bar.

“They’re actually not so benign,” Dina Burstein of the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital told WJAR. “And I think what people don’t realize is that they actually burn at a very high temperature — up to 2,000 degrees — so that’s the equivalent of what a blow torch would be at.”

Not very surprisingly, the most typical sparkler injuries are burns, Burstein added — “very commonly to the hands, often to the face, injuries to the eyes.”

The doctor helpfully suggests using “things like pom-poms and glow sticks” instead of sparklers to celebrate America’s independence. Bubbles and noisemakers are other good substitutes, Burstein said.

Translation: EVERYONE, STOP HAVING FUN!

Are sparklers dangerous? If used improperly and without adult supervision, yes. Even with responsible adults present, there’s a risk in letting kids run around with sparklers. But there’s also a risk with most anything you let kids do for fun. Ride bikes, play on a playground, go swimming, just walk down the street to play with the neighborhood kids.

What’s the solution? Package the kids in bubble wrap and never let them do anything fun at all?

Sorry (actually, no I’m not sorry), but the 4th of July means fireworks and, yes, sparklers.

The good news is that not everyone is trying to be a fun-hating killjoy. The sourcelink also cites another doctor who says that as long as there are responsible adults around and everyone is careful, letting kids play with sparklers is just fine –

“Take it seriously,” Corpus Christi Medical Center trauma center manager Jennifer Carr told local NBC affiliate KRIS-TV.

“Realize that fireworks can cause injuries, and always have adult supervision even with sparklers. Children need to be supervised,” Carr also advised. “Sparklers can reach a temperature of 2000 degrees and so we see lots of injuries of children with fireworks. A lot of those is because of lack of adult supervision.”

Bottom Line: Be reasonable, be careful, don’t be stupid, and have fun.

I can’t think of anyone suggesting you do otherwise on the 4th of July.