Gender reveal parties should be harmless fun events, but instead are becoming social media stunts that use dangerous means to get clicks and views.

The idea of gender reveal parties was popularized in 2008 after blogger Jenna Karvunidis cut into a cake, revealing pink icing to celebrate finding out she was pregnant with a daughter.

However, gender reveal parties have turned into elaborate and sometimes dangerous events that can lead to devastating effects to the environment.

In April 2017 Dennis Dickey, a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona, fired a rifle at a target to learn the gender of his child, but ended up sparking a fire that caused more than $8 million in damages, according to an Oct. 1, 2018 New York Times article.

Shooting at a target is just flat out not a good idea for a gender reveal party.

The fire burning in El Dorado, California was the result of a “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” that was used at a gender reveal party, according to a Sept. 6 Cal Fire news release.

The fact that these devastating wildfires were caused by parties is concerning and proves that dangerous stunts shouldn’t be happening at gender reveal parties.

Recently, Karvunidis used social media to plead with the public not to use such dangerous methods to reveal their baby’s gender.

In a Sept. 7 Facebook post, she expressed her disappointment that a gender reveal party caused the fire in El Dorado, which has burned more than 22,000 acres so far.

“Stop having these stupid parties,” she said in the post. “For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid’s penis. No one cares but you. It was 116 degrees in Pasadena yesterday and this tool thought it would be smart to light a fire about his kid’s dick.”

The consequences of some careless gender reveal tactics can even be deadly.

In 2019, Pamela Kreimeyer was killed by a pipe bomb that was made unintentionally by her family, who built the device as a way to reveal the child’s gender, according to an Oct. 29, 2019 ABC News article.

Another casualty of the consequences of a gender reveal gone wrong is firefighter Charles Morton, who died last week while battling the fire in El Dorado, according to a CNN article published Tuesday.

Additionally, 13 others have been injured and 3,467 people were evacuated from areas east of San Bernardino, according to a CBS Los Angeles article published Sunday.

The article also mentioned the fire damaged two structures, destroyed four others and continues to threaten 17,289 homes.

Some evacuation orders remain in effect for residents of Angelus Oaks up to Onyx Summit in Southern California as of Wednesday, according to Cal Fire’s website.

While these gender reveal parties shouldn’t be banned completely, they should definitely be reworked.

It’s likely that these parties, which sometimes involve dangerous acts like blowing up a target, are done with social media in mind, as some individuals are looking for a chance to go viral.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have a viral video, as long as it’s done in a safe manner.

A safe way to gain attention for a gender reveal party is using confetti cannons or maybe even colorful fireworks, as long as safety precautions are taken.

Some other safe options, while maybe not show-stopping ones, include cutting a cake with colored icing inside or popping balloons filled with confetti.

As gender reveal parties continue to evolve into bigger events, it’s important to keep safety in mind in order to prevent more serious consequences.