Top 5 Thanksgiving Safety Hazards

From tainted meat to fires to interacting with others, the Thanksgiving Holiday week can prove to be a very dangerous holiday. On a gratitude-focused day, too many people find themselves instead dealing with the neglect of safety. Before any of that happens, take a few minutes to understand the Top 5 Thanksgiving Safety Hazards and how best to avoid them ruining your holiday.

Top 5 Thanksgiving Safety Hazards

  1. Fire – More than 4,000 home fires take place Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and most of those start in the kitchen. To help prevent fire in your home on Thanksgiving, never leave food cooking unsupervised, keep children away from the stove, and make sure the floor remains free of anything that could cause tripping. And of course, make sure fire alarms are in working order.
  2. Food – Choking and food poisoning are two of the biggest hazards regarding food, and their potential only increases at Thanksgiving when most people consume more food than usual. Prevent these scary and uncomfortable events by taking time to enjoy food instead of eating quickly, following safe handling and cooking guidelines for meat, and knowing what to do should a food-related emergency occur.
  3. Travel – About 91% of Thanksgiving travel takes place by car, and over 20 million people travel by airplane. Since Thanksgiving is one of the most travel-heavy times of the year, it is also one of the most likely for accidents and other challenges experienced when travelling. When traveling by car, make sure your vehicle is well-maintained, plan your route ahead of time, and be prepared with an emergency kit. For air travel, allow extra time to get to your gate, get plenty of rest to help you stay patient in the crowded airport, and be sure to pack for quick on and off to avoid spending time in lines and at the luggage carousel. And, regardless of method of travel, always stay aware of weather conditions.
  4. Pets – If you add pets to an already busy house during a Thanksgiving get-together, you may just create a recipe for disaster. To avoid this, make sure everyone knows not to feed scraps to your pets, keep your pets out of the kitchen, and perhaps put pets in a closed bedroom if they seem overwhelmed. A loving pet owner makes sure to understand the possible hazards involving their beloved family member and does what is necessary for ensuring everyone’s safety and wellness where pets are concerned.
  5. Black Friday – Safety on Black Friday involves not only having a shopping plan and remaining patient in the chaos, but also realizing that more shoppers out also means more thieves are out too. Keep yourself and your purchases safe by using the buddy system, by not overloading yourself when walking to the car and by being mindful of who sees your credit card. In addition, make sure purchases are always out of sight in your vehicle and that children are always within your sight in the store.

Taking some time to organize and plan, along with dosing up on common sense, goes a long way in creating a safe environment for you and your family during the Thanksgiving Holiday. While you cannot control others, you can decide for yourself to put together the right mix for a safe time, whether eating or shopping. Doing so will help make sure the holiday remains thankful instead of full of regret.

The tips above provide just the very basics for ensuring a safe Thanksgiving Holiday.Take just a few more minutes to learn about additional safety hazards and tips by reading the following resources: