It's just a sparkler...

Last year a two year old girl died in our town from an injury related to fireworks. I know of one little boy who also lives here who will most likely lose his eye from a fireworks related injury. People think I'm a stick in the mud, but I won't even let my boys play with sprinklers. The core is 1800 deg Fahrenheit! People shouldn't let their kids play with matches. Why would they let their kids play with sparklers?

• The American Society of Ocular Trauma states that an average of 400 Americans permanently lose vision in one or both eyes due to fireworks injuries annually.

• Children ages 15 and younger make up a significant number of fireworks injuries, accounting for 36 percent. For children under the age of 5, a third of the total injuries were from sparklers.

• Last year, approximately 6,400 Americans spent part of their Fourth of July holiday in the emergency room, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

• Eyes were the second most commonly injured part of the body, with an estimated 1,400 fireworks-related eye injuries treated during the Fourth of July holiday.

• There were 11 fireworks-related deaths in 2007.

Today a nine year old boy suffered burns on 45% of his body because a sparkler caught his shirt on fire;