A spark can burn a child or set clothing on fire. Glass coffee tables. Glasstop tables can break on impact. She advises removing glass tables from rooms where children play, or protecting the surfaces with a soft padded covering. When you have children, cleaning up after a holiday party is an important part of the festivities, according to physicians at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
Leftovers can prove sickening or even deadly.
Jean Ogborn, M.D., assistant director of the pediatric emergency department, says children are curious about half-empty glasses of alcoholic drinks, cigarette butts, hard candies or peanuts. Half a glass of wine, for example, puts the small body of a child at risk for intoxication and possibly death. As few as four or five cigarette butts can lead to nicotine poisoning, Ogborn adds. To spot a child in trouble, look for symptoms including headache, nausea and irritability. In addition, she warns, always put away small snack items, hard candies and peanuts that may lodge in a child's throat.