The school have successfully ruined bonfire night for my DS

[goingupinsmoke]

I'm wondering AIBU, I'm sat her pretty peed off. DH and I arranged to put our dogs with a friend and we bought a small selection of fireworks for the back garden, these were low noise tame ones DS are 8 & 5. It was supposed to be a surprise!!

So the boys come out and are scared to death of the fireworks, and started to tell us the school have been talking all day about the danger, they have shown my DS 8 pictures of people with burnt faces, he described the eyelids all burnt, people with burnt tummys and one picture of someone missing a leg.

Don't get me started on sparklers, Oh no mum we are not allowed them, look my coat has big sleeves, our gloves aren't the correct type.

Sod this over protective nonsense, there is safety then there is scaring kids stupid and wrecking something that should be fun.

Opinions??

In Ireland fireworks are illegal. I find it a bit mad that people set them off around children. Your son is a sensible boy IMO.

Seen as most of the police call outs on bonfire night are due to kids throwing fireworks at each other, and a&e is full of kids with firework injuries, it doesn't hurt to let kids know of the dangers.

you are over reacting.

Children NEED to know the dangers of fireworks, they can kill.

I would be a bit that they had been shown pictures of burn victims.

However he's right about the sparklers (sorry). You need to be careful with sparklers - DP's family let their kids run around with them, I was horrified!

I grew up with this advert on TV. I'm still scared of sparklers!

Sorry but I think YABU.

The advice seems to be go to a public display rather than have your own because they are dangerous so I wouldn't be having my own anyway. Plus children need to understand the dangers - too many children have been hurt playing with what are effectively explosives, mini bombs. My boys have had the same talk and I would am glad that they wouldn't now dream of messing about with fireworks. Mine won't touch sparklers either and that is fine by me.

Yes, fireworks should be fun but they should also be at a safe distance, being run by trained professionals imo.

ended up with me and DH writing our names with the sparklers

Fireworks aren't toys, they are dangerous and cause injury if used carelessly,often in the name of "fun". Unless you've seen the material for yourself you only have their word for what was said and shown and kids are prone to exaggeration. I burnt my hand on a sparkler through a glove aged 5, fortunately not seriously but my friend had serious burns on her legs aged 17 due to some larking about at a bonfire. Use it as an opportunity to show safe behaviour and safe fun.

I don't have an eight year old, so I might be a bit misplaced there - perhaps 8 is the right kind of age?

goingupinsmoke

I'm afraid that I come to this thread a little against home fireworks. I was at a small 'back garden' firework party when I was 7 and had a sparkler stuck in my face by another child who was just being jolly and waving it. I was lucky not to lose an eye - as it was, I still have the scar on my eyelid/brow.

Fireworks are not toys.

Yabu - and well done to your boys for taking notice and trying to educate you.

With regards to the picture you have to remember that for a lot of 8 year olds the idea of a burn means very little to them, perhaps they may have experienced someone with a small burn but they are unlikely to have any idea of the scale of a burn. By showing pictures (vetted by the teacher before) of the effects of burns from fireworks that is much more likely to make a child realise they aren't to be messed with than telling them "you might get burnt"

Jeeeeeeeeeeeez. There's health and safety and then there's scaremongering - that's ridiculous!!!

At age 14 we had a drugs/substance abuse talk at school and we had to get a parent to sign a form as there would be graphic image. Perhaps suggest this to your school for the next time they show these images as I know I would have been disturbed at that age by those sorts of things!

Have just been round my parents for fireworks and the kids preferred watching them through the window- my parents think I've scared them! I also put a sparkler ban on, my mum thinks I'm nuts- but I'm a bloody wuss when it comes to fireworks!

I would say that my 8 year old was telling it like it was - he described the eyelid hanging off and the half of a face burnt - I had to make him stop!

Your boys sound very sensible. I would be very proud of them if I were you.

YABU, sorry. I can't believe home fireworks are still legal, TBH. Stick to public displays. I would never go somewhere or let DS go somewhere where I thought amateurs might be letting off fireworks.

Hypocritically, though, I do love a sparkler...

If your that worried ask the school if you can see the pictures. Knowing 8 year olds it wouldn't surprise me if he was exaggerating slightly anyway but better him realising thanks to a picture than first hand experience the dangers.

I think the school is right. We always had sparklers as kids but I wouldn't dream of giving one to a child these days. They're fun, but not THAT fun, certainly not worth the very real risk of getting burned for.

My mum recently heard of a bonfire party where a Catherine wheel span off the wall and into a young child with horrific consequences. Just not worth the risk IMO

DH is a Firefighter and is working tonight. They expect three times the number of calls tonight than any other night of the year and every year there is someone injured. Teenagers throwing fireworks at fire crews is not unusual.

He says that you have to educate children at primary age about fire works; secondary is too late as by then the consider themselves too big and too clever.

Honestly, I would reframe your thread title to 'school have successfully stopped my boys ruining someone else's life next Bonfire Night'. Smart boys. YABU

YABU

Why not take them to an organised display? Far safer, and much more impressive.

we can't do public displays that would mean leaving the dogs home alone hence the garden suits us -

We did only buy the grade 1 fireworks little fizzes, no rockets etc, and nobody else was around as we are out in the sticks.

Most schools give firework lectures. My kids are 6 and 4 and they have been receiving safety talks since nursery.

Anyway, it's far better to go to a public firework display - better fireworks and better safety.

Re the sparklers, yes, they are very dangerous also - I put my kids in ski goggles to wave the sparklers but did allow 4yo and 6yo to wave one wearing gloves and goggles!

i am still scard of fireworks down the the public information films of the 70's they did not seem overly bothered by the emotional impact such films had in those days :)

they will get over it as most people have and fireworks can be very dangerous so they are telling them the truth