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??

puffpants, like sex there are a hell of a lot of more benefits to driving than there are to setting off explosives in your garden so it's a stupid comparison. Its not easy to elimiate all car journeys from your life, its quite easy to just not do amateur fireworks

I know, sounds like a war zone here as well, fireworks are going off everywhere.

TBF, I'm pretty sure the guy that was in the garden is one of the ones who was setting them off from the window or one of his friends.

what about horseriding?

20 deaths a year.

I grew up thinking fireworks were fun items and didn't really realise the dangers. But having watched several TV programmes over the years and read about accidents I don't think the school was in the wrong to point out the dangers.

Sparklers are fine. What nonsense. Obviously you hold them carefully, and don't stick them in anyone's face.

They sound out of control, is it worth calling your local police station for advice? am worried for you now!

Edgar most people who ride do it on a regular basis, not just once or twice a year, so multiply the deaths/accidents from fireworks by 26 or 52 to make a more accurate comparison

No point, our house is already on the high priority watch list, they are known to them.

But don't worry, I'll be fine bricking it under my duvet. :o

oh dear that must be stressful
idiots

Telling them not to do it at 13/14 is too late. They need to grow up understanding the dangers.

There is a 10 year old in hospital in Salford after a firework exploded in his face so i would say 8 is an age they need to understand the dangers.

It is but after 2 months of them, we're kind of used to it. :)

But yes, I am fully behind them showing this stuff in school if it even helps prevent idiots from thinking it's okay or safe to do this crap.

I used to work in burns and plastics. The aftermath of bonfire night was horrific and those memories still haunt me. I'd like to see fireworks banned unless for professionally set up public displays.

YANBU!

I completely agree with safety messages that emphasise observing all the instructions, keeping the specified distances, employing strict common sense around sparklers (I made children stand still, in one place, far enough apart not to touch), and letting them know what could happen with reckless use.

Unfortunately there are school children who do terrible things, throwing them in the street etc, but scaremongering over small fireworks sensibly used is OTT.

Yes, organised but even they got it wrong with disastrous consequences. The organiser was in court recently.

Highlights that proper controls need put in place urgently.

My parents have been doing firework displays for over 28 years and there has never been any accidents.

There is a metal bucket filled with sand for the sparklers and there is a 1-1 ratio for sparklers, my husband is the only one who lights the fireworks and he does them further than what is recommended on the box.

The children get drilled for weeks and weeks before bonfire night.

And there is a zero alcohol allowed.

Fireworks can be fun and safe, it's the idiots who don't know what they are doing spoils it for the rest.

Any German MNers on here?

Went to Berlin for New Years a few years back and the fireworks were mad, set off willy-nilly all over the place. Most of the people must have been drinking (this was past midnight). Some landed on our hotel balcony.

Do they have more accidents in Germany with fireworks?

My personal opinion is that we will never have fireworks at home and always go to an organised display, not least because we have several locally that support excellent causes.

At 5 years old I saw another child catch fire at a private fireworks party only ever been to professional displays since. Fireworks should only be handled by professionals and never in the average back garden.

loveschocolate no livestock near us and if there were a few fizzes in a wheelbarrow wouldn't bother them in the slightest they are used to the shots of the gamekeepers and deer shooting that goes on around here that makes more noise than fireworks, and is on a more regular basis.

It really does depend on the child, as a child of the 'public information' films of the 70s I could not hold a sparkler, walk under an electricity pylon or go near a canal to feed the ducks because we were scared shitless about all of them.

As an adult I think that sparklers are fine from age 6ish, fireworks ok in the garden if small and if the instructions are followed and extra precautions taken (one person outside only, more distance than they say), I also think it's ok to swim in some rivers and lakes in summer (something denied to me throughout childhood because we were all convinced we'd die instantly).

It would be nice to think that all parents would be sensible like you goingupinsmoke but some of the stories we have been hearing at school today tells us that our best hope is to get it into the children's minds, as the parents won't be doing it! :(

McHappyPants there ARE idiots who are drunk/use them against instructions
But there ARE also people who do it by the book and they still go wrong for them, I've seen it happen.

My dad was a fireman, we were never allowed fireworks in the garden, nor sparklers. When we went to organised displays he used to work out, or find out, which direction the fireworks were set off and we'd stand away.

We have never let off fireworks in our garden either and my children haven't has sparklers.

2 years ago I was in bed, on Halloween night, following spinal surgery. Some of the local louts threw fireworks at my open bedroom window and at our front door. DS2 went running out of the in bare feet, to chase after the yobs, and was so lucky he did not stand on a firework still burning away on my doorstep.

The sooner they are banned for any old Tom, Dick or Harry to buy the better IMVHO!

A community organised event near me had a bonfire and firework display tonight A box of fireworks caught fire and exploded. Don't know if anyone was hurt as yet...