Safety Tips for a Happy Halloween
. Posted in Holidays, Parent-Child Advice - 1 Comment
Kids love the magic of a Happy Halloween, but costume and traffic safety are essential for trick-or-treaters. These tips can help make a safe and enjoyable holiday for everyone.
To help ensure adults and children have a Happy Halloween, fda.gov has compiled a list of Halloween safety tips. Before Halloween arrives, be sure to choose a costume that won’t cause safety hazards.
- All costumes, wigs and accessories should be fire-resistant
- If children are allowed out after dark, fasten reflective tape to their costumes and bags, or give them glow sticks
- Opt for nontoxic Halloween makeup over masks, which can obscure vision; always test makeup in a small area first to see if any irritation develops
- Remove all makeup before children go to bed to prevent skin and eye irritation
Here’s a scary statistic: Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Lack of visibility because of low lighting at night also plays a factor in these incidents. Keep these tips in mind when your children are out on Halloween night:
- A responsible adult should accompany young children on the neighborhood rounds
- If your older children are going alone, plan and review a route acceptable to you
- Agree on a specific time children should return home
- Teach your children never to enter a stranger’s home or car
- Instruct children to travel only in familiar, well-lit areas and stick with their friends
- Tell your children not to eat any treats until they return home, and take care to avoid any food allergies
We offer these additional safety tips for parents as well as anyone who plans to be on the road during trick-or-treat hours:
- Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs
- Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully
- At twilight and later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing
- Discourage new, inexperienced drivers from driving on Halloween
Happy Halloween! Have fun and stay safe!
Allison Green
Boston Tutoring Services
Wow! How things have changed since the 50s and 60s. We had few instructions, stayed out as late as we wanted, did not have to fear about contaminated candy or food, nor fear about unsavory characters. In fact, we used pillow cases since the treats were so plentiful. No less… not only did we have a Halloween night but a precursor Beggar’s Night as well. Those simple good old days of childhood, despite the wide-spread poverty, diseases and social disputes experienced by adults, are gone.