Tips for Keeping Your Child Safe This Holi

Holi is a festival of colours and the origin of this festival dates to thousands of years. Over the decades, Holi has become quite popular among children. They rejoice playing with colours and the fiesta is a perfect platform for them to strengthen bonds with their friends, relatives, siblings, cousins and neighbours.

However, Holi, despite its vibrance, is a little risky for children, as it can cause skin allergies, organ damages, fever or stomach ailments if proper protection isn’t taken. Thus, you as a parent or guardian must take precautions to ensure a safe Holi for your beloved child. Given below are 8 ways to do so.

1. 1. Avoid Synthetic Colours




Synthetic colours, though cheaper and easily available, contain harmful chemicals like mercury, lead and aluminium bromide. Children with sensitive skin can suffer from severe allergies and rashes if synthetic colours are splashed upon them. Try to avoid such colours and buy certified organic or herbal colours.

Organic colours can easily be washed and are gentler on your child’s delicate skin. Also, while bathing your child post-Holi celebration(s), avoid harsh soaps. You can use besan ubtan or curd. The astringent characteristic of curd helps in taking off colours. In the past, organic colours were naturally prepared at homes. Today, you can purchase them online.

2. 2. Appropriate health management tool




We all know the importance of a healthy lifestyle. You might have adopted few fitness routines and daily exercises in order to reach your coveted health goals. The use of wearable devices can help you to know whether your workout activities are helping you in achieving your health goals, thereby acting as a crucial tool for your health management.

3. 3. Ensure Colours are Not Ingested




Many children sometimes mistakenly ingest colours while playing Holi. This can cause serious ailments as colours are not edible substances. Synthetic colours that contain harmful chemicals, which if ingested can lead to serious diseases.

Thus, keep a close watch on your child and ensure he/she does not ingest colours. However, in case your child does so, it is better to go to the nearest medical centre for treatment at the earliest.

4. 4. Teach Your Children Good Water Manners




While Holi is a festival of joy and fun, some people avoid participating in it due to religious, personal and social reasons. During Holi, instruct your child not to force an unwilling person to celebrate with them.

Also, ask them to avoid spraying watercolours on each other’s faces suddenly. Ensure that your child does not spray colours on wounds and carbuncles. Since water is a scarce resource, teach your child to use it judiciously.

5. 5. Make Sure Your Child Wears Goggles




Eyes are one of the most vital as well as vulnerable organs of our body. Make your child wear goggles to avoid optical injuries while playing Holi.

Swimming goggles are preferable since they are made up of water-resistant materials. This is because some colours, when splashed, can cause eye irritation and in some extreme cases, blindness.

1. 6. Discourage Water Balloons




During Holi, many children love to play with water balloons. Water balloons, though used for fun, can cause serious injuries if thrown with full force at vulnerable parts of your child’s body like eyes, ears and head.

Thus, it’s essential to discourage your child from playing with water balloons and instead buy him or her a ‘pichkari’.

2. 7. Dress Your Child Properly




Long dresses are preferable during Holi since they cover most of the body parts of your child. This helps your child from having less skin contact with colours, thereby reducing the chances of skin allergies.

During Holi, apply petroleum jelly or moisturisers on your child’s skin, because it forms a protective layer and will not allow colour to stick to the body. The scalp and hair can be protected by applying oils. This will reduce the chances of skin allergies and rashes.

3. 8. Constantly Monitor Your Child




In order to avoid untoward incidents, monitor your child’s movements and activities. While colours can be applied on cheeks and foreheads, it’s essential to avoid sensitive organs such as eyes, ears and nostrils, especially while splashing or spraying watercolours.

In some cases, you might face resistance from your child, but politely instruct him/her to avoid certain places for his/her safety. Don’t allow your child to splash colours on strangers, elderly, stray dogs and other domestic animals.

4. 9. Be Prepared for Any Contingency




It’s prudent to be prepared for any contingency and therefore always keep the contact number of your family physician or your child’s paediatrician. Contact your physician immediately in case of any untoward incident.

Make sure to avail a health insurance policy covering your child as such a policy can be of great financial help during distress. Not only it reduces out-of-pocket expenses but ensures funds are not a roadblock for receiving the best possible treatment.