Kids & Firecrackers : To Let Them Play or Not?

do you let your kids play with firecrackers? mercun? bunga api cap kucing?

many unfortunate mishaps that we hear or read happened to some who suffered burns and serious wounds (lost of limbs too!) from playing firecrackers are caused by

• the misuse of firecrackers,
• wanabe scientists with failed experiments using potentially hazardous materials,
• and of course, no adult supervision (sadly, some who misuse ARE adults)

so should i not let my kids play firecrackers?

 

my boys with their cousins : note kazim’s lack of fear for the bunga api!

 

let’s rewind. further back. 1986. ok stop.

i had an extremely fun experience with firecrackers when i was a kid which became one of my best memories of ramadhan with my siblings. i played with the exact same type of firecrackers – bunga api cap kucing, bunga api asap banyak yang pemegang dia belang-belang merah putih tu, dengan pop-pop bila baling kat lantai bunyi meletop!

i stayed away from mercun – the big huge one shaped like a rocket, or even the small weird ones shaped like a frog. yes, i admit – i was afraid of lighting up firecrackers that will emit extremely loud noises and huge explosions!

my best memories of playing firecrackers during ramadhan :

1. my sisters and i would play bunga api in the front lawn right by our front door, lit them up with the lit-up panjut (oil lamps) that we hung on the fences.
2. and mak would even let us ‘cook’ something using a pot, water and hibiscus petal. making flower tea?
3. and when we balik my dad’s kampung teluk intan for raya, abah’s youngest sis mak cu would be the one supplying bunga api for all of her nephews and nieces! here i enjoyed the loud, explosive mercun, but left it to the older cousins to light them up, while i looked from far behind!
4. i tagged along with my eldest sister and her wacky friends to a ‘firecracker showdown’ with the boys! we went to a very very dark field – a team on each side, and then take turns to light firecrackers and see who lights up the brightest, and loudest!

so i see no reason of depriving my boys and their young cousins of the same fun that i had when i was their age!

 

cousins : nuna & kahfi

 

we just all need to remember and be reminded – SAFETY FIRST, and ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION!

alhamdulillah, the kids were well-behaved – extremely curious and highly excited, and needed a few reminders – but generally careful when they handle firecrackers.

it was fun just watching them, while reminscing my own childhood…

 

my boys : anong khaleef, kazim & kahfi

 

my boys just went out of this world with excitement. hihi.

khaleef the big boy was able to play all the time, lighting his own bunga api, and do all sorts of silly stunts with the bigger boys abg haqeem and abg haiqal.

kahfi was a little apprehensive at first – just watching to see whether it’s safe enough for him to handle on his own. slowly, he started to get more curious. soon he was able to hold his own bunga api after i help light it up.

unlike kahfi, kazim was NOT scared at all. he went very close to anyone holding the bunga api. he was very curious from the start, and if i hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve wanted to hold the firecrackers himself. i didn’t let him, until the VERY LAST one, and even then, i was holding his fingers along as he held the bunga api. he was ecstatic!

 

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i’m glad they had fun. fun in a safe environment! most importantly, this would be one of the things they would remember doing with their brothers, with their cousins, and with their mak and bapak during ramadhan. priceless memories for keeps.