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Kid-Proofing the Christmas Tree
Filed under: Holidays
Growing up, I always had a Christmas tree. When I was little, I don't recall considering pulling it over or removing (and eating) the ornaments on it, but those of us with kids know those are the serious risks we take when we engage in one of the most sacred of holiday traditions. For many of us, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a tree. It's not just the place under which all the presents live; it's the thing that brings the family together in what can be a rather chaotic holiday.
So, what to do? My son will be nearly two years old this Christmas. We'd really like to put up and decorate a tree but it exhausts me to even think about constantly keeping him from pulling off (and eating) the lights, tinsel and other decorations. One idea is to get a smaller tree and perch it atop something high. Another idea is to keep the tree in a room off-limits to the kids. That's safe but not really any fun for the children, who delight in seeing the glowing lights and sparkling tinsel (and trying to eat them). You could also fore go a tree all together and hang garland on the mantel. Garland can be decorated with ornaments as well, just in smaller scale.
Still, there is something about having a tree during the holidays. We've tried to find a fake tree as we worry about the effect pollen and mold from a real tree (yes, they're covered with both) will have on our newborn, but we can't seem to find one less than 6 feet tall that could easily be perched atop our wine cooler--which is just high enough to keep little hands off of our lower hanging branches. Some friends suggested keeping the ornaments off the lowest branches, or even trimming those off. That may look funny, but I suppose it would be safer. Another thought is to simply put away any breakable ornaments, those you really care about, or those that might break or become ingestible--you know, small parts that can break off, that sort of thing. Forget about the tinsel and the lights. Make edible Christmas decorations like cookies. Not exactly healthy, but better to ingest sugar than metal or glass!
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Seriously, I am thinking we'll have to do without a tree until the kids are six or something for fear they'll pull the tree over on themselves or eat the ornaments!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-05-2008 @ 11:17AM
colamum said...Have you considered putting a babygate/fence around it (works best if you have the tree in a corner spot.
It may be a bit sore to look at, but it has worked really well for a few friends of mine w/ rambunctious toddlers.
Reply
12-05-2008 @ 11:24AM
Shannon said...between my son and us having a new kitten the last couple years, decorating has been a challenge. As far as the little guy goes, we just did not put ornaments on the bottom of the tree- funny, but memorable for pics, lol. The kittens seem to knock more off the tree than him- we can't do much about them..they like to lay across the branches..This year I hope that my now 4 year old will know to look but not pull off ornaments. I also saw "non breakable" pretty ball decorations at wal mart- I had abandoned those years back because they were glass types and in a horrifiying incident my friends little son put on in his mouth and crushed it, he was ok but we about had a heart attack. So, wal mart, here I come, like it or not..
We have a beautiful fake tree, with the lights already in it- yea- I know, fake tree, but it's worked out well.
So- no tinsel, non breakable decorations, and possibly a naked tree on the bottom- that's my advice!
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12-05-2008 @ 11:24AM
megan said...I've got a two year old -- we put up our tree last weekend. Left all the glass ornaments in their crates and just used plastic and unbreakable ones, which she loves to play with. We don't use tinsel anyways (or hooks) because of the danger to our pets, so that part was easier. But we've done lots of talking about being gentle with the tree and so far it's ok.
A tree fence is a good idea though!
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12-05-2008 @ 11:48AM
michelle said...We set up a baby corral around it. We had one for the baby many years ago, and instead of corraling the baby, we do it to the tree. the tree is safe, the baby is safe, and Mom is less panicky.It doesn't look pretty, but it works. Plus, we take it down when company comes over, more eyes to watch the baby.
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12-05-2008 @ 11:47AM
Steph said...Put the tree up, for the child and yourself! Don't decorate the bottom, or do like I do and put only unbreakables on the bottom. I don't leave it completely naked because it is fun for little kids to touch, and that helps to teach them how to touch gently, how to look at it without pulling it off. Also helps to have the tree in the stand quite firmly. I don't put any presents under until after they're in bed on Christmas Eve though, as they would get "accidentally" opened or maybe broken.
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12-05-2008 @ 3:07PM
Karen said...Wow. I don't remember this being an issue with either kid.
We just put up the tree and told them not to touch it.
Now the cat was a whole 'nother matter. We end up wiring the tree to the wall so it won't tip over, but basically did the same thing with the cat. Made loud noises if it went near the tree or squirted it with water.
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12-05-2008 @ 12:32PM
Jen said...When my daughter was one, I spent her naptimes winding and clipping the lights to the bottom two thirds of the tree so there were no exposed cords. I also bought plastic ornaments and satinish ribbon hangers that loop through the ornament tops. She's now three and has a great time redecorating the bottom three feet of the tree, and I can relax and let her. It was time well spent.
You could get the same light effect by buying a prelit tree, but I'd check it over to make sure all the cords were tight to the branches.
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12-05-2008 @ 12:45PM
CLM said...A super yard for when people aren't over. The individual sections pop apart (not easily) so you can make a fence any size or shape you need. Also has a handy strap that we use as an anchor so the kids cannot move the barrier. We use bits of ours on our patio to keep the kids away from inedible plants and in the house to protect that one corner where the electronics (and this time of year) the holiday tree live.
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12-05-2008 @ 1:01PM
Jessica said...We have also done the superyard around the tree, mostly to keep our cat away from the tree (and leaving 'surprises' underneath it!), but it had an added bonus of keeping kids out of trouble too. We would hang our stocking on the outside of the fence (with plastic ornament hangers) to make it look a little nicer!
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12-05-2008 @ 2:39PM
Heather said...Yep...superyard works great.
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12-05-2008 @ 2:17PM
SKL said...I told my girls from day 1 (ages 9 and 12 mos) not to touch the tree. I was consistent about it: you can look at it, but you can't touch it. They don't bother the tree, and they didn't bother it last year either. Admittedly, they've been tempted a few times, especially when a new caregiver has come into the picture, but they got back on track with a reminder or two.
I thought I'd have to use the Superyard suggested above, but I was pleasantly surprised. Kids are capable of more than we often give them credit for.
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12-05-2008 @ 2:40PM
Dee said...The only times I've had a tree go over was with a cat launching itself from on high (enough power, high enough, to knock the tree over--the cat generally needs to be about 3/4s the way up to accomplish it) or a good deal of weight (80lb dog) hitting the base. I grew up in a house with 5 kids and always a live tree, and none of the young kids ever had enough power to take a tree over, and older kids knew not to do anything to knock it down.
We had 10 foot live tree last year, and a 9 foot fake tree this year. I did the commonsense step of putting only the nonbreakables in the kid's reach (he's 2 this year--actually HE put up the nonbreakables) and the breakables up high. We lost one eggshell ornament last year because the dog ran into the tree and it flew off the tree and smacked the wall. The dog actually didn't manage to take the tree over that time--just sent the ornament flying.
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12-05-2008 @ 4:08PM
rocrn1 said...We used to put our tree in the playpen when our children were small, but back then the playpens were a little larger. With our grandchild we only use nonbreakable ornaments or cloth made ornaments. It looks more traditional anyway. I string popcorn on dental floss instead of using tinsel, figure it would be better to eat stale popcorn instead of tinsel, and it is more environmentally friendly to discard at end of season. Just be careful of using wooden ornaments-- some could contain leaded paint products.
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12-06-2008 @ 5:07PM
Maxie said...My daughter is almost two and a half. She has been enjoying the tree so much that I can't imagine not allowing her to touch it. I had plenty of pre-child years to have my perfect (and very delicate) tree with breakable ornaments. I will have many years when she is all grown up to have my perfect tree again. I suspect that these years, with cloth and other toddler friendly ornaments arranged and rearranged on the tree by little hands will be the only years my tree is worth remembering. Who are you decorating your house for anyway? Ours is decorated for our family - and if we can't all (especially the little ones) enjoy it, what's the point?
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12-08-2008 @ 11:26AM
Rob O. said...We decided that the tree is really as much for him as it is for us, so we let our new-adopted 2 year old help us decorate the tree.
We let him hang shatterproof balls and lots of those plastic Snoopy ornaments that come on the little boxes of Whittman's Chocolates. We did hand a few special, somewhat more fragile ornaments very high on the tree where he couldn't reach.
So far, the tactic of getting him involved so he would be less inclined to take things off seems to have worked. He has rearranged a few of the balls, but mostly he leaves it alone and just gazes in wonder at the lights.
Oddly enough, we noticed that when he was hanging ornaments, he tended to cluster a bunch of things in one area and didn't really want to spread them out evenly. So I waited until after bedtime and shifted a few around to make it a bit nicer looking...
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2-16-2009 @ 11:02PM
ACO said...The play yard seems to be your answer, we did the play yard as well, and actually thought it looked kind of cute. That was when he was 18 months, (last Christmas.) This year at 2 1/2, we didn't need to use the play yard, we modified the ornaments so only unbreakables within reach. He was very good, better than we thought he would be. At some point you have to trust they will listen, and who needs tinsel? Not good for kids or pets. Trees can be so pretty without.
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