How to Buy Fireworks for Your Kids

The absolute truth is that there are no fireworks that are 100 percent safe. Common sense indicates that kids should never play with fireworks and that responsible parents should not buy them for their children. There are, however, some "safer" fireworks that can be used by the whole family as long as kids are carefully supervised.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Buy your kids sparklers, the simplest and most basic type of fireworks. Legal almost anywhere, sparklers produce a lot of light and intense heat for a few seconds and provide a thrill without the dangers of explosions. Crackling sparklers produce a cracking noise to go along with the light and come in a variety of colors.

2. Talk to your kids about the precautions needed to handle fireworks before you buy anything. Stress the importance of keeping them away from their bodies and faces, handling them with care and never lighting fireworks unless they have an adult around to supervise them.

3. Stay away from bottle crackers or other types of flying fireworks. They are unpredictable and should only be handled by adults and only in open spaces. Flying fireworks tend to be incredibly attractive to children because of their dynamic light shows.

4. Buy novelty fireworks, the new generation of safe fireworks that can be used by almost anybody. Smoke balls, hand blasters, party poppers and snappers make a lot of noise but produce no flames or explosions, so they do not carry the risk of burns.

5. Buy ready-to-use fireworks rather than kits you need to assemble yourself. Even the simplest do-it-yourself set of fireworks can be too complicated for kids to handle properly and may result in injuries because of fireworks not being properly armed and ready to fire.

Tips & Warnings

• Very young kids should not use any type of fireworks, not matter how responsible or mature they seem to be. Children older than 10 can use the safer kind if they are supervised.
• Most of the injuries related to fireworks occur in children between 10 and 14 years old, so make sure you pay attention to your kids around fireworks, not matter how old they are.
• Don't let kids buy their own fireworks. Either go shopping with them or buy the ones you consider safe enough for them to handle with adult supervision.
• Don't allow children to carry fireworks on themselves. Buy the fireworks yourself and keep them home until the moment you are using them.