birthdaydoodle00WHAT THE SAFETY GUIDANCE SAYS
Most birthday risks are small, and easy to fix.
A party for little ones brings balloons, candles and cards that play a tune. Child safety and fire experts single out each of them, and the fixes take minutes.
Check the party01Principles
02THE SHORT ANSWER
None of these means skipping the fun.
Each needs a grown-up for a moment or two.
BALLOONS
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission says uninflated balloons and broken pieces are the danger. It advises supervising children under 8 and picking up pieces straight away.
Check the partyCANDLES
London Fire Brigade says never leave candles unattended, and keep candles, matches and lighters out of the reach of children.
Party stepsBATTERIES
The Child Accident Prevention Trust lists musical cards and books and light-up toys among the things that hold button batteries, which can badly hurt a small child if swallowed.
See whyGeneral information only, not professional safety advice. If someone is in immediate danger, call the emergency services.
03A QUICK PARTY CHECK
Pick a party item to see what the safety guidance says about it. The bar shows how much care the guidance asks for around young children.
Based on advice from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Child Accident Prevention Trust and London Fire Brigade. General information, not medical advice.
04TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
One figure on how quickly a stuck battery does damage,
one on what candle-blowing does to the icing.
2 hours
Time a stuck battery can take to burn
If a lithium coin cell battery gets stuck in a child's food pipe, it reacts with saliva to make caustic soda. CAPT says this chemical reaction can happen in as little as two hours. Children aged 1 to 4 are most at risk.
BUTTON BATTERIES · CAPT
15× more
Bacteria on the icing after candles are blown out
In a study published in the Journal of Food Research, blowing out candles left on average 15 times more bacteria on the icing. The researchers said most of these bacteria are not harmful.
THE CAKE · CLEMSON STUDY
CAPT says even 'flat' button batteries can hold enough charge to badly injure a child, so used ones need storing out of reach until they are recycled.
05FOUR STEPS ON THE DAY
These fit around the party rather than stopping it. Most are jobs for whoever is setting up the room.
Keep uninflated balloons away from small children, and sweep up pieces of any that pop straight away.
Light them on a stable surface away from clothes and decorations, keep watch, and put them all out after the wish.
Look at musical cards, light-up toys and tea lights for loose battery backs, and put spare and used batteries up high.
CAPT says if you think a child has swallowed a button battery, go straight to A&E or call an ambulance.
06THE CAKE QUESTION
Researchers at Clemson University in the US tested icing on mock cakes and found that blowing out the candles left about 15 times more bacteria than on icing nobody blew on.
The researchers said this is usually not a health concern, because most of these bacteria are harmless. Their common-sense advice: skip the cake if the person blowing out the candles is clearly ill.
07Questions
Blown-up balloons are not seen as the problem. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission says uninflated balloons and broken pieces can be sucked into the throat, and advises supervising children under 8 and binning broken pieces at once.
Usually, yes. A Clemson University study found blowing out candles left about 15 times more bacteria on the icing, but the researchers said most were not harmful. They suggest avoiding the cake if the blower is clearly unwell.
The Child Accident Prevention Trust lists musical cards and books, light-up toys and novelty items, string lights and tea lights among products that often use them.
No. CAPT says a battery that no longer powers a device can still hold enough charge to badly injure a child, so store used ones out of reach until you recycle them.
CAPT's advice is to go straight to A&E or call an ambulance if you think a child may have swallowed one.
08Sources
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