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Kids' Party Safety: The Checklist Nobody Hands You

Not a lecture. Twelve specific things that actually go wrong at children's parties, and the small decisions that prevent them.

We deliver furniture to a few hundred children's parties a year, which means we see the same small problems again and again. None of them are dramatic. All of them are avoidable with a decision made a week earlier.

This isn't a list of things to worry about. It's a list of things to decide, so that on the day you can stop thinking about them.

Furniture and the tipping question

The question we're asked most is whether small chairs are safe for toddlers. The honest answer is that correctly sized furniture is considerably safer than the alternative, and here's why.

A two-year-old on an adult chair has their feet dangling. To get down they slide forward and drop, which is how most party falls happen. To reach the table they lean and pull, which is how most drinks go over. Put the same child on a chair where their feet reach the floor and both behaviours stop.

What to look for, whoever you rent from:

• Feet flat on the floor when seated. Not "nearly" — flat.
• A wide, low base. The chair should resist being tipped by a child leaning back in it, because they will.
• No gaps a small arm can go through at the back.
• Nothing that folds. Folding furniture and small fingers are a known combination. Ours don't fold.
• Level ground. On grass or old paving, tables need leveling. We do it on arrival; if you're setting up yourself, check it with a full cup.

Food: the five that matter

Choking risk peaks under age four, and the foods involved are consistent enough to just avoid:

• Whole grapes and cherry tomatoes — halve them lengthwise, not across.
• Whole nuts — not at a party with under-fours, at all.
• Popcorn — generally advised against under four.
• Hard round sweets and large marshmallows.
• Sausage or hot dog rounds — if you serve them, cut lengthwise into strips rather than coins.

And a seating rule worth more than any of them: children eat sitting down. Choking risk rises sharply when small children eat while running. A table they can get into by themselves is the easiest way to make sitting the default.

Allergies, handled without drama

Two questions on the invitation solve almost everything: "Any allergies or foods to avoid?" and "Anything else we should know?" Then:

• Label the food. Small cards, plain words — "contains nuts", "dairy free". Our mini menu cards work for this.
• Keep the allergy-safe option physically separate, not at the end of the same board.
• Serve, don't self-serve, for under-fives where there's a serious allergy in the room.
• Ask where the medication is. If a child has an adrenaline auto-injector, know that it's in the building and who has it. That one question is the whole job.
• Favor bags are food too. A nut-based sweet in a goody bag counts.

Water, and the layout that supervises for you

If there's a pool, a hot tub or even a large water table, the single most effective thing you can do is positional: put the adult food and drink where the pool is in the natural line of sight. Adults gather at the food. If they have to turn around to see the water, they won't do it consistently.

• Name a specific adult as water-watcher, in shifts, out loud. "Everyone's watching" means nobody is.
• Keep seating and the dessert cart on the far side from the entry steps — drier, and it keeps traffic away from the edge.
• Buckets, coolers and water tables get emptied when the water play ends, not at the end of the party.

More layout detail in our poolside party guide.

The front door

Underrated. At a party with fifteen arrivals, the front door is propped, the gate is open, and a two-year-old is faster than you think.

• One adult on door duty for the arrival window.
• Gates latched and checked after the last guest arrives, not before the first.
• If you're in a venue, know where the exits lead before the party starts.
• Dogs, however lovely, behind a door during arrivals and cake.

The small physical things

• Balloons. Uninflated and burst balloons are a genuine choking hazard for under-eights. Pick up fragments immediately; foil balloons don't have the same problem.
• Candles. Lit once, blown out, moved out of reach. Never left on a table children can reach.
• Extension cords taped down or routed away from the play lane.
• Glass. Simply don't — not on the children's table, not for centerpieces.
• Sun. Shade over the seating between 11am and 3pm in summer, and a jug of water that isn't the sugary drink.

The five-minute version

If you do nothing else on this page:

1. Seat the children at their own height so they eat sitting down.
2. Halve the grapes lengthwise.
3. Ask about allergies on the invitation, and ask where the medication is.
4. Put the adults where the water is in their eyeline.
5. Give one person the door.

Every rental we deliver is set up and levelled by us, so the furniture side of this list is handled before you arrive. Get a quote and we’ll confirm your date.

Frequently asked questions