Fireworks and Safety

It's the time of the year where adults and kids gather together to blow stuff up.  Let's face it, every one of us has it hardwired into our DNA that explosions are cool and the fourth of July provides a legal path to explode stuff.  This is the first year my wife and I have purchased fireworks for a family display, aside from basic sparklers.  As you can see below, most of the fireworks we purchased were small, $1-3 sets.

Our fireworks for the 4th of July.

We let the kids pick out ones they liked.  I have to admit that my favorite, simply because of its name, is the Poopy Puppy!

The Poopy Puppy.

I'm sure the Poopy Puppy will be a disappointment, but for $0.99 how could we go wrong?

July 4th fireworks are a time to have fun, but they are also a time to teach your kids safety.  My younger daughter is probably too young to understand this year, but my older daughter is fully capable of understanding safety.  Before we start our fireworks we're going to have a short lesson on safety.  If the firework says to not hold in hand, then it's very important to not hold it in your hand.  If you're supposed to move away after lighting the fuse, then guess what, you need to move away.  We'll discuss why it's important to have a fire extinguisher and a bucket of water on hand.

Science is a wonderful thing, but it can be dangerous at times if certain precautions are not taken.  That's especially true for fireworks.  In 2009, nearly 9,000 people were injured by fireworks.  Of those, 1 in 3 were children.  In addition, fireworks started 30,000 fires nationwide.  So firework safety is not something to take lightly.

With that said, have a happy July 4th celebration and wish us luck with the Poopy Puppy!