Cook, decorate, and select toys with safety in mind this holiday season

The holidays are usually filled with good wishes and joy. However, things  can go very wrong quickly.

Think safety first while cooking, decorating and buying toys.

In 2023, an estimated 154,700 children 12 years or younger were treated in emergency rooms due to toy-related injuries, and 10 children died in toy-related incidents, according to “Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries Calendar Year 2023,” a report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Other findings from the report include:

Toy-related emergency room treated injuries from 2016 to 2023

• Decreased by nearly 5 percent for children under 15 from 175,600 to 167,500.
• Decreased by nearly 8 percent for children under 13 from 167,800 to 154,700.

Non-motorized scooters 

• Accounted for the largest share of injuries in 2023 – 53,000 – across all age groups.
• Are involved in more than one in every five toy-related injuries for children under 15.

The majority of toy-related deaths were related to:

• Choking on small balls or crayons.
• Drownings linked to flotation toys.
• Entrapment inside a toy chest.
• Ingestion of water beads.

Injury diagnoses

• Lacerations were the most common toy-related injury for all ages.
• Contusions/abrasions and fractures were the second and third most common for all ages.
• Contusions/abrasions and internal injuries were the second and third most common diagnoses for children under 15 years old.
• Ingestion and internal injuries were the second and third most common diagnoses for children under 5 years old.

“From online shopping to in-person gatherings, safety and protecting our children should be a top priority this holiday season,” CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said in a statement. “By being mindful of product hazards, checking for recalls and purchasing from reputable sources, you can protect your loved ones and ensure a joyous and accident-free holiday for all.” 

Safety tips from the CPSC for holiday activities including toy-buying, cooking, and decorating include: 

Toys

The CPSC, in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, seized nearly 1.6 million dangerous or illegal toys in fiscal year 2024. Of those, nearly 101,900 toy seizures were related to lead content.

Holiday toy safety tips

• Follow age guidance and other safety information on toy packaging and choose toys that match each child’s interests and abilities.
• Get safety gear, including helmets, for scooters and other riding toys and make sure that children use them every time.
• Keep small balls and toys with small parts away from children younger than age 3, and keep deflated balloons away from children younger than age 8.
• Discard plastic wrappings or other packaging from toys immediately after the gifts are open, before they become dangerous playthings.

Online toy shopping safety tips

• Know your seller. Purchase toys from stores and online retailers you know and trust.
• Look for a choking hazard warning statement on the firm’s advertising page when purchasing toys and games online that contain small parts, balls, marbles, and balloons.

Cooking

The largest share of the 352,400 annual residential fires, 45 percent, are cooking related, according to the CPSC’s report on residential fire and loss estimates. Cooking fires spike on Thanksgiving Day with an average of 1,400 cooking fires – more than three times the daily average of cooking fires. CPSC data also show that Black Americans have the highest rate of deaths from fire, nearly twice the overall rate across the population.

Holiday cooking safety tips

• Never leave cooking food unattended on the stove or in the oven.
• Fry a turkey outside and away from your home or other flammable materials. Never use turkey fryers in an enclosed area such as the garage or on the porch.

Decorations

About 160 Christmas decorating-related injuries occur each day during the holiday season, with nearly half of the injuries involving falls. In the 2023 holiday season from Nov. 1, 2022 – Jan. 31, 2023, about 14,900 people were treated in emergency rooms due to holiday decorating-related injuries.

Holiday decorating safety tips 

• Water your live Christmas tree and look for the “Fire Resistant” label when buying an artificial tree.
• Never leave candles unattended. Keep burning candles in sight, away from flammable items and put them out before leaving the room. Use flameless candles whenever possible.
• Never string together more than three sets of incandescent lights and never overload electrical outlets.

Visit CPSC’s Holiday Safety Information Center for more holiday safety tips.