Blog Details

•           Clay diyas are made by local potters, are biodegradable, and can be reused next year.
•           Let your child paint them a few days before Diwali. Steps are in easy Diwali crafts for preschoolers.
•           Use ghee or mustard oil with cotton wicks.
•           Place lit diyas high and stable, away from curtains, dupattas and walkways.
•           Electric fairy lights: choose LED, and keep plugs and wires out of reach.

Child job: putting the (unlit) wicks into each diya, counting as they go.

2. Colour: natural rangoli

Store-bought rangoli powders can contain synthetic dyes. For small hands (and mouths), try:

Flower-petal rangoli is the easiest of all: marigold, rose, chrysanthemum and leaves. When Diwali is over, it all goes in the compost.

3. Cracker-free Diwali activities children love

Tell children what you will do, not just what you won’t. “This year we’re having a light party!” lands better than “No crackers.”

1.         Diya walk: carry a battery tealight in a clay diya around the house, placing one in every room.
2.         Shadow puppets: a torch, a white wall and your hands. Make a deer, a bird, Hanuman’s tail.
3.         Glow party: glow bracelets (age 3+, supervised), music and dancing in the dark.
4.         Balloon “crackers”: pop balloons by sitting on them. Loud, silly and safe. (Collect the pieces straight away, as balloon pieces are a choking risk.)
5.         Paper “fireworks”: splatter-paint on black chart paper with an old toothbrush.
6.         Bubble show: bubbles in front of fairy lights look magical.
7.         Lantern parade: with the paper lanterns from the craft post.
8.         Storytelling by diya light: tell the Diwali story with only diyas lit.
9.         Watch from a window: if neighbours burst crackers, watch together from a safe distance indoors.
10.     Sweet-sharing round: take a small plate of homemade sweets to neighbours.

How to explain it to a 4- to 6-year-old: “Crackers make smoke that makes the air dirty and hard for birds, animals and little lungs to breathe. We make our Diwali bright with diyas and colours instead.”

4. If your baby or toddler is scared of the noise

•           Plan ahead: keep windows closed and play soft music or white noise during peak hours (usually 7–11 pm).
•           Stay close and calm. Name it: “That’s a loud bang. It’s far away. You’re safe with me.”
•           Don’t force exposure. Taking a frightened child outside “to get used to it” usually makes fear worse.
•           Protect sleep. Start the bedtime routine early and keep it the same. Our bedtime routine for 2–5 year olds helps.
•           Ear protection: child-sized earmuffs can help older babies and toddlers in noisy places. Avoid putting earplugs in young children’s ears (a choking risk).
•           If fear tips into a meltdown, see our guide to toddler tantrums: what to do in the moment.

5. Healthy Diwali snacks for kids: sweets without the sugar overload

Diwali is about sharing sweets, and an occasional ladoo is part of the joy. The trouble is quantity: over the week, the boxes keep coming.

How much sugar is okay for a toddler?

Health bodies broadly agree on a few points:
– Under 2 years: avoid added sugar altogether where you can.
– Over 2 years: keep added sugar low. WHO recommends that “free sugars” be less than 10% of daily energy intake, and ideally under 5%, for adults and children alike.
– In everyday terms, one small piece of mithai a day during the festival week is a reasonable limit for a preschooler, ideally after a meal rather than on an empty stomach.

This is general guidance. If your child has diabetes, an allergy or a medical condition, follow your paediatrician’s advice.

Simple rules for the week

•           Sweets after meals, not as snacks between them.
•           Small pieces. Cut a barfi into quarters; a child is just as happy with a small piece.
•           Water, not juice or cold drinks.
•           Brush teeth after the evening sweet.
•           Watch for choking risks: whole nuts, hard boiled sweets and sticky chikki are not safe for under-5s.
•           Don’t use sweets as rewards (“finish your dal and you’ll get a ladoo”). It teaches children that sweets are the prize and vegetables are the punishment. See how to make your child eat vegetables.

3 homemade ladoos for kids (no refined sugar)

Dates and nut ladoo (age 2+ with nuts finely ground)
– 1 cup soft, pitted dates
– ½ cup nuts (almonds, cashews), ground to a fine powder
– 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
1. Blend the dates into a paste.
2. Mix in the ground nuts.
3. Roll into small balls (your child can do this part) and coat in coconut.

Ragi and jaggery ladoo
– 1 cup ragi flour, roasted in 2 tbsp ghee until fragrant
– ½ cup powdered jaggery
– 2 tbsp ghee, warmed
Mix, cool slightly, and roll small balls. Jaggery is still sugar, so keep portions small, but these ladoos also add fibre and minerals.

Coconut and banana ladoo (age 2+)
– 1 ripe banana, mashed
– 1 cup desiccated coconut
– 2 tbsp milk powder
Mix and roll. Refrigerate and eat within two days.

Child jobs: washing hands, measuring, mashing banana, rolling balls, coating in coconut. Adult jobs: anything on the stove, and grinding nuts.

Other healthy Diwali snacks for kids

•           Roasted makhana with a pinch of salt
•           Baked mathri or baked chakli
•           Fruit chaat with a little chaat masala
•           Dhokla squares
•           Mini besan chilla rolls
•           Roasted chana (for children who chew well, usually 4+)

More everyday ideas are in our healthy lunchbox ideas for preschoolers.

6. Gifts that last longer than plastic

•           Picture books and story cards
•           Crayons, colours and a drawing book
•           Play dough with cookie cutters
•           Wooden puzzles and blocks
•           A potted plant your child can water
•           A “voucher” for a park outing with a grandparent

After the festival

If your child seems unwell after Diwali (cough, cold, upset stomach), it’s often a mix of late nights, rich food, smoke and the season change. Our guide on when to keep your child home from preschool explains which symptoms need rest and which need a doctor.

A greener Diwali at Shanti Juniors

Shanti Juniors celebrates festivals with stories, crafts, clay diyas and flower rangoli, so children experience the joy of Diwali in a calm, safe way. You can see more in our culture section and in how we approach learning on our approaches page. [CONFIRM: any centre-wide green Diwali initiative this year]