Tips to Keep Toddlers Safe Around Christmas Trees

Christmas trees are an enticing addition to a toddler's home. Small children are drawn to the bright ornaments, lights and the novelty of having a tree in the house. Learn how to keep both your children safe from potential Christmas tree hazards and how to keep your holiday tree safe from curious hands.

Safeguard Toddlers from the Christmas Tree with a Playpen

Place a thin Christmas tree in a large playpen or surround a fuller tree with an expandable fence. The Deluxe Secure Surround Play Yard from One Step Ahead is a circular, indoor fence that can surround a tree and keep it safe from little hands. On Christmas morning, gifts contained inside the fence will be safe from excited toddlers and preschoolers until the parent gives the okay to open presents.

Use a Table-Top Holiday Tree

Consider scaling back the Christmas tree and using a smaller, table-top tree. The tree can be placed up on a table and will be out of reach of crawling babies and young toddlers. Table-top holiday trees have the added benefit of taking up less floor space. Presents can be stacked under the table on Christmas morning, freeing up more floor space for young children to play.

Anchor the Christmas Tree to the Wall

A hook can be screwed into a wall stud and the holiday tree can be secured to the hook with fishing line or sturdy string. For extra security, two or three hooks can be used to anchor the tree at several points down the length of its trunk. It will be impossible for a toddler to pull a securely anchored tree over onto himself.

Toddler-Proof Christmas Tree Ornaments

This is the time to put aside the fragile glass and ceramic holiday ornaments, or at least put them up high on the tree away from exploring toddlers. The bottom half of the tree should be decorated in paper, plastic, cloth or yarn ornaments. Avoid ornaments that have small pieces that could be a choking hazard. Instead of metal ornament hooks, loop the ornaments on the tree by the string.

Give Inquisitive Toddlers Some Tree Exploring Time

Some particularly impulsive toddlers will have a hard time staying away from the tree despite all parental precautions. Give your child some supervised time to explore the safe ornaments on the bottom of the tree and to feel the bristly pine needles. Enlist your child's help in decorating and allow some time to rearrange ornaments daily.

Keeping your child and your Christmas tree safe by taking some precautions will make a safe, relaxed holiday for all.

For information on where to find safe toys this holiday season read "Christmas Shopping: Avoid Made in China Toys" and "Are LEGO Building Toys Safe?".