How to ensure a safe & happy Holi for your children?

Holi, the festival of colours! One of the most awaited festival. Every child in the colony wants to splash beautiful colours at their friends. They make sure that the colour gets so deep that it doesn’t fade out for the next 4 days, at least. Children simply want to scream on the top of their lungs ‘Happy Holi!’

Parents, on the other hand, are more worried than excited. What if the colour infects my child’s eye? What if my child gets hit in the rush of excitement? Many such ‘what if’s’ plummet on our concerning parents.

So, what can we do about it? Is there any way to keep children safe in all the rush of excitement around us? Well, there are many ways to ensure your child’s safety this Holi and future Holi’s that are awaited.

Here are a few ways you can use to keep your child safe.

1. Holika Dahan

Holika Dahan is the very first ritual done in Holi. We set wood on fire with every bad and negative thing we own. It is known that all the negative energies and emotions are burnt in this Holi fire. The fire, as mesmerizing and sparkly it looks, is unsafe at the same time. Make sure that you keep your child away, at a distance, from Holika Dahan. Parents usually make their children throw things by their hand in the fire. They simply want to ensure that their child burns the negative and bad things as well. However good the intentions, make sure you make your child throw things in the fire under your supervision.

2. No water Balloons

Yes! Kids love water balloons. They look forward to filling tiny balloons with coloured water using Pichkaaris! The fun part isn’t just this. It is when we aim the water balloons at our friends and hit them with it. This can be harmful at times. The very first concerning thing is we don’t know how safe the colours are. The second thing is that balloons truly hurt. Children might forget this at that brief moment of excitement. They might vigorously play the balloon fight and end up with body ache. Sometimes this gets so serious that it often cracks the delicate skin of children. We don’t mean to scare you! It’s just a precaution to be taken to ensure children’s safety.

Read More: 11 things you can teach your child about Prahlad & Holi

3. Eco-friendly colours

Talking about colour, as told earlier, we have no clue how safe colours are. There are many chemicals mixed in colours we buy in the market. Silver, golden won’t shade away for days. These are the colours that contain chemical in high amount. Instead, teach your child about eco-friendly colours.

Red colour can be made by blending dry hibiscus flower, sandalwood powder and dry rose petals. The green liquid can be made by boiling henna leaves with flour. Keep that overnight by filtering the leaves. Yellow colour can be made by mixing turmeric powder and besan in 2:4 ratio. The blue colour can be made by using blue Gulmohar leaves. You can also consider Gulal for your child to play with. Here, you are all set to let your child play with all natural colours.

4. Oil before playing

No matter how eco-friendly colours we use, there is always going to be someone who uses chemical based ones from the market. These colours are going to get a good hand on your child’s skin and clothes. Make sure you guide your child to apply oil all over. Oil will protect your child’s skin. It will also help get rid of the excess amount of while showering after the play.

Read More: 5 Activities for Diwali to Strengthen Your Bond with Children.

5. Right clothes

White is the classic colour people wear for Holi. When different colours are splashed, the simple white t-shirt looks all colourful. Make sure your child wears a full t-shirt and a full old pair of jeans. This will protect your child’s skin for most of its part. Make sure your child is almost covered for playing with colours.

6. Safe use of Pichkaari

Guide your child to use the Pichkaari very carefully. Children aim their target friends to spatter colours. Sometimes, unknowingly, the colour can get into the eyes or nose of children. This can result in a very serious condition. So make sure you direct your children to play safely.

7. Keep emergency numbers

Remembering emergency numbers is very crucial. This isn’t just for Holi, but also on a daily basis. If your child is young enough to remember numbers make them remember your numbers. If your child is still young or finds it hard to remember numbers, hand them a dairy with all the important numbers. Emergency numbers include parents numbers, Doctor’s number, and any other relative’s number. Mostly make sure your child is with someone responsible around, in case you are not.

We can not restrict children to play with colours. They enjoy Holi for a reason, so did we when we were kids. But, we surely can take precautions and care to keep children safe. It is very crucial to direct every child around us on how to play safe. So gather all the parents around you and ask them to guide their children as well with safe colours and playing safely.

Happy colour splashed and safe Holi to you and your family!