Sparklers: how to keep your children safe

With that in mind, we've pulled together some properly sparkling safety tips:

Top 10 sparkler safety tips

1. Store sparklers and other fireworks in a closed box in a cool, dry place.
2. Always supervise children using sparklers.
3. Don't give sparklers to a child under 5.
4. Always light sparklers one at a time and, preferably, wear gloves.
5. Show children how to hold sparklers: away from their body and at arm’s length.
6. Teach children not to wave sparklers near anyone else or run while holding them.
7. Never hold a sparkler yourself, if you're also holding a baby in your arms.
8. When a sparkler's burnt out, plunge it, hot end down, into a bucket of water. Sparkler's can stay hot for a long time.
9. Don’t take sparklers to public displays. It will be too crowded to use them safely.
10. Make sure your children aren't wearing very loose, flowing clothes: in the unlikely event that things do turn dangerous, loose clothing is more likely to catch light.

Why can't under-5s have sparklers?

We know it sounds a bit boring and "health-and-safety-mad" but safety experts, like the folk at RoSPA, do all agree that children under five are unlikely to be able to understand how to use sparklers safety.

Over the past 5 years, RoSPA says, more than 350 pre-school children – some only a year old – were treated in hospital for fireworks injuries.

In the end, if it's a toss-up between a couple of moments of extra pleasure and a huge increased risk of something nasty happening to a small child, we all know we'd choose the boring-but-safe option.

What do I do if my child gets burned by a sparkler?

Accidents do happen, of course. And the best thing, always, is to act quickly. Here's what to do:

• Cool the burn or scald by immersing it in cold water for at least 10 minutes (keep going even, if your child hates it).
• Cut around material sticking to the skin. Do not try to pull it off.
• Don’t touch the burn or burst any blisters.
• Cover the burn with clean, non-fluffy material to prevent infection. Clingfilm is ideal.
• If a child's clothing has caught fire, get the child to stop and drop to the floor. Then roll them in heavy material, such a curtain, until the flame's extinguished.
• Get advice from your GP or, in the case of a real emergency, go to A&E.

Read more

• Having a home firework display? Here's the safety info you need
• Firework fun for an autistic child
• Public firework displays - how to keep your child safe