Diwali! It is a time when families come together, despite distances and differences. It is a time to appreciate and be thankful for all that you have. It is also considered an auspicious time to make new beginnings, whether it’s on the personal or professional front. In short it is a time to rejoice and celebrate! The festival brings with it a whole lot of excitement and grandeur everywhere you look. The festivities are seen through flower decorated homes, brightly lit diyas, new clothes and definitely loads of fireworks and crackers.
Oil diyas, electric lamps, crackling crackers are an inevitable part of this festival of lights. And while I don’t mind the diyas and the lamps, it’s the crackers that get me a little edgy. You see, unfortunately, as a child I learnt the hard way, that it is extremely important to practice a safe Diwali. After all for a child, Diwali can only mean two things, a time to indulge in new clothes and gifts, and a time to burst crackers with your family and friends. And in an attempt to impress my friends about how fearless I was, in my younger days, I ended up burning my fingers, pun intended.
Now as a parent of a child, who is at an age where fire crackers seem like the most exciting thing on this planet, my main concern, is his safety. In fact I have spent the last couple of weeks, trying innovative ways to tell him how to practice a safe yet fun Diwali. So in that sense, this blog post couldn’t have come at a better time. Here are some things that I tried with my son, in order to ensure, he enjoys his time celebrating a risk free (I hope) Diwali!
Striking the Diwali conversation in advance: Handing out safety tips on the day of the festival isn’t going to work. Your child will be easily distracted, with friends and family visiting, and chances are, you will be too. If you want to catch your child’s fleeting attention especially while he is enjoying his Diwali holidays, then you must start a few days in advance.
Rules around the house: As a parent of an excited youngster, you need to spell out the dos and don’ts around the festival, clearly. This could include things such as (a) no bursting fire crackers indoors, (b) no playing with lit diyas, (c) no unsupervised time with the firecrackers (this means he/she gets access to all sorts of explosives, even if they are guns/snakes only when you are around).
Sensible Clothing: This is something that is easy to convince your child about. No finery near the fireworks! You can ensure this at your end by shopping for the festival accordingly. Cotton clothing is the thumb rule while handling fireworks.
Never hold firecrackers when lighting them: Many children tend to light ‘bombs’ or other crackers while holding them, and then throw them up in the air. Children often emulate adults. So don’t do this yourself, and teach your child to never light up when holding the cracker. Not only can the cracker burst in your child’s hand, but when your child throws it he could miscalculate and hurt someone else. I tell you this from personal experience!
Don’t have fun at another’s expense: Lighting a rocket horizontally and watching others shriek and get out of the way may seem like fun for a child, so it’s important you impress upon your child how such pranks can be dangerous. In fact, you can even encourage him to bring such behavior to an adult’s notice, in case he sees some of his friends indulging in such pranks.
Talk about an eco-friendly Diwali: With everyday news about high pollution levels and global warming, it is a good idea to tell your child, how firecrackers add to the existent environmental woes. You can site examples of how children in various parts of the country are pledging to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali, and you can lead by example to this effect. While it may not be entirely possible to convince your child, at least you can convince him/her to reduce the use of firecrackers. You can also encourage him/her to do indulge in a social cause by setting aside a part of the budget you planned to spend on the firecrackers, and letting him/her decide how he would like to help the needy with that money. For e.g.: let him/her decide if you should buy clothes, food, etc with that money and help him/her distribute it. This will kindle the true festive spirit within your family.
At your end, you can ensure the following to make your child’s Diwali a safe one.
Watch a display: It is safest to watch a fireworks display than it is to actually burn the crackers. Try and mobilize your neighborhood to organize a fireworks display, as is the practice in other parts of the world. In keeping with the spirit of Diwali, you could light diyas in your home and perform a puja.
Discourage burning firecrackers: If all your child’s friends are burning firecrackers, chances are, your child will feel left out if he/she is the only one without them. Try speaking to your child’s teachers to discourage children in her class from burning firecrackers on Diwali. The children could do a project on the disadvantages of burning firecrackers, emphasizing on child labor, the diseases suffered by these children who make the firecrackers, their dismal working conditions, the tremendous air pollution, wastage of money, burns associated with Diwali and so on.
While you may have tried several of these tips, it’s always a good idea to revisit them with your child, before the festivity begins. So, on that note, I would like to wish you and your families, a very happy and safe Diwali. And of course more such tips on making your child’s Diwali a safer one are welcome!
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