Key Halloween Safety Tips
Smart steps for helping keep your whole family safe

What kid doesn’t love dressing as their favorite character, collecting loads of free candy and staying up late? Halloween, the “kid holiday” provides all of these special delights.
Halloween
can quickly turn tragic, though, if caution is not taken. Because of the vast
numbers of excited kids on sidewalks and streets, a child’s risk of getting
killed by a car doubles, according to Safe Kids Worldwide. All of that candy, the wrong costume and increased fire hazards
also pose risks. To help keep your family safe, put these tips to work this
Halloween.
Costumes
The
costume is the first step in keeping Halloween both safe and fun for your family.
The American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP)
suggests you:
Select
short and close-fitting costumes to prevent tripping, but choose ones large
enough to allow your child to wear warm clothing underneath. Also, dress them in comfortable shoes (not costume shoes)
that they can walk in without tripping.
Make sure your kids are visible to
drivers by choosing bright-colored
costumes and adding reflective tape to costumes and trick-or-treat bags. Also,
have kids carry a flashlight or wear a headlamp to light their way.
Look
for a “flame resistant” label on costumes. Although these do burn if exposed to
flames, they’re made to provide enough time for a child to stop, drop and roll
before a severe injury occurs.
Skip
masks, which can limit eyesight; use non-toxic makeup or decorative hats instead.
Just be sure to test makeup on a small patch of your child’s skin ahead of time
to help ensure it won’t react to the makeup.
If
the costume uses an accessory, like a sword, cane or stick, go with one that’s
neither long nor sharp to reduce the chances that someone will get cut or trip.
Avoid
decorative contact lenses – the kind sold by non-optometrists – as these can
cause eye pain, inflammation and infections, potentially leading to permanent
vision loss.
Yard and House
Holiday
decorations, like paper
ghosts and dried cornstalks, cause an average of 860 home fires every year, reports the National Fire
Protection Association.
So keep decorations away from heaters,
candles or fireplaces. Use electric candles, not real ones, in jack-o-lanterns.
In fact, with so much going on - from excited kids, over-stimulated pets and
numerous distractions - consider foregoing candles on Halloween altogether.
Prepare the path to your house. Ensure the path is well lit, and clean up anything around the yard, sidewalk and front door stairs that could cause someone to trip.
Traffic
With so many
excited kids out and about, more children die in pedestrian fatalities on
Halloween than any other day of the year, reports Safe Kids Worldwide. In addition
to making kids more visible with costume choice and reflective tape, Safe Kids also urges you to use crosswalks, stay on sidewalks
and hold hands with kids 12 and under to cross streets.
Candy
Overindulging in candy can cause upset
stomachs, overexcited nerves, cavities and pack on the pounds, so dole out the candy
over time, limiting the amount both kids and adults eat. The FDA
offers these additional tips: Even though candy tampering is rare,
have kids wait to
eat candy – or any treat that they receive - until you’ve inspected it at home.
Discard anything without an intact wrapper and also check labels/items for
signs of spoilage. Homemade treats should be tossed unless they came from
someone you know. Check labels carefully if your kids have food allergies. Remove
gum, peanuts, hard candies and small toys that may pose a choking risk from young
childrens’ Halloween bags.
Other Tips
Plan to accompany all kids 12 and under on
their trick-or-treat adventures, advises the Mayo
Clinic.
In case you get separated from them, leave a note with your children’s names,
address and your cellphone number inside their pockets.
Require
teens to go with a group of friends, parents or older siblings. For these
teens, plan and discuss a familiar route and set a curfew.
Get more Halloween
safety tips for your kiddos and pets in our Halloween guide.