Decorating the Christmas tree and rooms around the house with reindeer and jingle bells and nativity scenes is a often a family event. Opening the boxes packed with ornaments handed down or collected over the years is one of the most special holiday activities. Each colorful decoration holds a special memory.
To keep those memories happy ones, be cautious about the ornaments placed on a tree where young children are present. Young children can be easily attracted to the glittery decorations, and the more fragile ones can break into small parts with minimal effort. Broken ornaments or decorations can expose sharp points, sharp edges or small parts that can quickly lead to puncture, laceration or choking hazards.
When children are present, avoid using decorations that resemble small pieces of candy. These are simply too enticing to young children, and they don’t recognize the hazard of swallowing that glass or plastic candy.
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| Tree topper #M251968; Tree garland #L316552; Star Ornament #L316554 |
Recently, O Widmann and Company, Ltd., a novelty importer based in London, announced a product recall on the Lollipop & Dots Sugar tree garland, White Snowflake tree topper and Hanging Star Sugar Ornament. UK Trade inspectors discovered the decorations during a routine retail investigation. They felt the decorations looked too much like real candy which could confuse children into thinking they were real, then put them in their mouth, or swallow them. If swallowed the candy-shaped pieces could create a suffocation, choking or poison hazard. It was determined that this product violates the UK law Council Directive 87/357/EEC that forbids the marketing of food-imitating products.
While the USA has not mandated such a rule, common sense should prevail. Protect children from this completely preventable safety hazard, and keep the merry in Merry Christmas by keeping food/candy imitating ornaments off the tree and out of the home.
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