Parents fret over noisy fireworks

With the approach of Spring Festival Eve on Saturday, parents have been asking online how to protect their small children from fireworks noise.

Cheng Huiqin, living in Chaoyang district, who has a 3-year-old son, said that they plan to spend Spring Festival in Thailand to avoid the fireworks.

"Last year, my son was so terrified by the bomb-like sound of the fireworks that he kept talking about his fear of fireworks six months after the festival. This is post-traumatic distress syndrome," said Cheng.

According to Cheng, the sound of setting off fireworks is like warfare and even the windows rattled.

"People set off fireworks several hours a day for about two weeks which is intolerable. My son kept crying; I could feel he was incredibly tense," she said.　

Xu Fei, who works in finance and has an 18-month-old daughter, said she will close the windows and keep her daughter well away from them.

"We hope this year she'll be better. But I'm also worried about the possibility of the child being hurt by fireworks on the way from my grandparents' home to my house," she said.

Huang Siyun, a Beijing pediatrician, said that it is better for parents to put cotton balls into children's ears, which will be big enough to take out.

"For those under 3 years old, parents should not let them get close to fireworks," she said, adding sudden loud explosions could harm a child's hearing.

Beijing Meteorological Bureau announced Thursday that it is inappropriate to set off fireworks during the Spring Festival because the weather is not favorable to disperse the pollutants, according to the Legal Mirror Thursday.