America is 235 years old this Monday. How are you going to celebrate? Whatever you do, make it a safe one for you and your family. It is one of the top holidays for emergency room visits for injuries due to fireworks, car accidents, and drinking. Playing it smart will avoid the emergency room as part of your celebration.

Remember, July 4th is in the summer. So 1) Apply sunscreen;
2) Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated; 3) Provide adult supervision around swimming pools (or any body of water) and with fireworks; and 4) Have your children know their chaperone's phone number when they're out and about.

Here's a twist to the popular "Mentos/Coke Experiment", modified just for the 4th of July! Try it out!

(This activity is best done outdoors in an open area, as it might get a little messy and the jets can spray several feet to meters high.)

Materials:
- one 2-liter bottle of colored DIET soda at room temperature or warmer- you can leave the unopened bottle in the sun for a while (red cherry, blue raspberry, orange) (note: regular sodas are sticky, diet isn't)
- one roll of ORIGINAL MINT Mentos® for each soda bottle
- piece of paper at least 4"x6"
- goggles or sunglasses

This is a fast-acting activity/experiment, so have everything ready and set to go:

1) Wear goggles or sunglasses over your eyes to avoid getting sprayed with the super fast geyser.
2) Roll the Mentos into a stack inside a tube made with the piece of paper.
3) Cover one end of the paper tube of Mentos with your thumb.
4) Unscrew and remove the cap from the soda bottle, place the tube of Mentos (thumb side down between Mentos and bottle), and quickly remove your thumb to empty the candies into the soda bottle, stackwise, so the candy drops in all at once.
5) STAND BACK, remove goggles, and watch the colorful display!

... in your celebration, it is best to view a public display conducted by professional pyrotech-nicians.

If you do decide to have your own fireworks, take precaution:

1) Purchase legal fireworks for consumers only.
2) Place pets inside.
3) Keep a bucket of water nearby to douse and fully immerse used fireworks
4) Have a water hose or fire extinguisher nearby to put out stray sparks and in case of fire.
5) Use fireworks outdoors only, away from anything that can burn.
6) Never let young children handle, play or ignite fireworks.
7) Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities. Parents often don't realize that there are many injuries from sparklers to children. (fact: Sparklers burn at 2000F, as hot as a blow torch)
8) Light one item and a time and then mover away quickly.
9) Never point or throw fireworks at another person and never hold fireworks in your hand.
10) If a firework doesn't light, wait at least 15 minutes and have an adult approach it. Never try to re-light fireworks that have not going off or fully functioned. Dispose by immersing in water.
11) Never carry sparklers in a pocket (the friction may ignite them)
12) If you or your child gets an eye injury, do not apply ointment or aspirin for pain relief. Cover and tape a patch or cone over the ey to prevent further contact and go to the ER immediately. (from preventblindness.org)
13) Clean up all debris when finished.

"A little planning goes a long way" holds true in all aspects of life, and especially in ensuring everyone has a good time this 4th of July, including you and your special needs child.

The main thing is to not overwhelm your child. This will prevent meltdowns and make the holiday more enjoyable for everyone.

- Spread holiday activities out over a few days (and the long weekend will hopefully buy you that time).
- Plan visits with family and friends for short periods of time.
- Keep to your child's schedule, especially when it comes to bedtime.
- If your child is sensitive to noise, invest in noise-cancelling headphones.
- If you absolutely need to travel to a stadium/park to view the firework display and your child doesn't want to, don't force him. Have someone stay home with him or have him stay with a relative or friend who he's comfortable with.

If you aim for enjoyable instead of exciting, you'll meet that goal and should feel good about it.