10 Simple Holiday Safety Tips

In no particular order...

1. Make sure you have working smoke detectors in each bedroom of your home and in the hall upstairs/living room downstairs.  Every year many kids are killed in fires because there were either no smoke detectors or they didn't work.
2. Have a working carbon monoxide detector and for the love of all that's holy don't use a combustion appliance like a BBQ grill inside your house.  This is a common killer because carbon monoxide is odorless.
3. Stay home if at all possible during winter storms.  Driving can be deadly on snowy and icy roads.
4. Don't drink and drive.  Alcohol-related fatalities increase during the holidays, don't be a statistic.
5. Domestic violence also increases during the holidays.  Try to avoid this situation as well.
6. Burglary and theft spike too during the holidays; take steps to prevent this.
7. I know it's football season and many social events during the holidays revolve around the game (army beat navy for the third year in a row yesterday :(   ) but there is pretty overwhelming proof that this isn't a game you/your kids should be playing (87% of players have CTE!).  Now every time I watch a game I am less enthusiastic about the game and more concerned for the player's brain health.
8. If you are traveling for the holidays. check your destination ahead of time for possible threats (examples here and here).
9. Obviously the holidays are stressful, but stress isn't good for you so try to ratchet down your stress levels this holiday season.
10. If you are having guests for the holidays, kid-proof your home.  Also, lock up or otherwise secure your guns if you will have kids visiting your home.