It’s coming- the spookiest day of the year! Halloween is loads of fun. With the candy, costumes, Halloween parties, and Halloween treats, it is right up there high on the list of most fun holidays to celebrate! However, it is also an important holiday to discuss safety with kids. Ensuring safety during Halloween festivities is crucial and here are some important halloween safety tips for kids. From Trick-or-Treating Safety to costume safety, these tips can help ensure that Halloween remains a fun and enjoyable time for everyone while prioritizing everyone’s well-being.This post is brought to you by Crest.
10 Important Halloween Safety Tips
Discuss these Halloween safety tips for kids with young children before they go trick or treating. It is good to do a quick run down of these Halloween safety tips each year as kids often need reminders.
1. Stay Visible
Trick or Treating usually happens about dusk and proceeds into the darkness of evening. Use some of those fun glow in the dark bands, carry a flashlight, or wear reflective clothing but make sure you stay visible to cars and people. Having a flashlight on hand can make a difference in knowing what’s around you. Not only can it help from falling down while walking around in the dark, but it can help quell fears by knowing if there is someone or something hiding in the bushes.
2. Watch Your Step
Candy can be pretty exciting and distracting but make sure you are walking on the side walk when there is one or staying close to the curb so as not to get into the flow of traffic.
- Be sure to look both ways before you cross the street.
- Follow traffic signals.
- Ensure costumes are flame-resistant and not too long to avoid tripping hazard.
- Opt for brightly colored costumes or add reflective tape to candy bags for better visibility in the dark.
- Avoid masks that obstruct vision; consider using face paint or makeup instead.
- FYI, decorative contact lenses can pose serious risks to eye health, including infections and vision loss, if not properly fitted or purchased without a prescription.
3. Dress Appropriately
It is always hard to know what the weather will be like when you are planning your costume. If it is cold out on Halloween night, make sure to layer up under your costume and stay warm while you are out trick or treating.
4. Buddy System
If children are old enough and allowed to go without parental supervision, make sure to stay in groups of at least 2 children.
5. Keep Trick-or-Treating Local This Halloween
For our younger trick-or-treaters, it’s easy to guide them to safer residential neighborhoods with well-lit streets. Keeping the experience in your local area, you can somewhat gauge proper houses and those you trust to not harm your children. However, the older kids could be quite adventurous and decide to maximize the candy haul for the night. Make it a rule that no child goes out by themselves regardless of how old they are. The larger the group the better. If you are still unsure about letting them go off with friends, there is nothing wrong with tailing the children in the car one block at a time. If children are old enough and allowed to go alone, they should still check in with their parent by phone at preset times.
Some areas will host local gatherings where communities can get together to offer a safe Halloween experience. In our particular area, high school kids will volunteer to make a kiddie-safe haunted house at the recreation center where they distribute candy themselves. While it focuses more on the children under the age of 10, it’s still an excellent place for my children to walk through and have fun. Look for projects like this in your neighborhood or city. You may be surprised by how many establishments take the fear out of Halloween.
6. Don’t Ever Go Inside
Even if you are trick or treating at a neighbor’s house, it is safest to not ever go inside for any reason. (The only exception being if you are with your parent and they say it ok because they are with you.)
7. Stay in Well-Lit Areas
It is best to trick or treat in areas with good street lights. Also, don’t go to houses that don’t have their porch light on. Older children and younger children should wear or carry glow sticks to make sure they are visible to vehicle traffic.
8. Make Sure Candy Is Sealed
Never eat candy that has a torn wrapper or is already opened. Since I was young, our family constituted a household rule that no candy is eaten until the parents check it. Too often do you hear horror stories of razor blades in apples and poisons injected into candy bars. You don’t have to be a forensic officer to give candy a good look-over to tell if it has been tampered with. Candy that had been already opened are discarded immediately regardless if it was a manufacturing default or not. It’s better to be safe than suffer the alternative.
9. Don’t Over Indulge
You don’t want to wake up with a tummy ache. Only eat a responsible amount of candy that your parent has approved of. According to a Crest Halloween Survey, 72.7% of mothers limit their children to a maximum of 10 pieces of candy on Halloween.
10. Brush Your Teeth
When eating extra sweets, it is so important do a great job brushing and flossing afterwards to give your teeth protection against cavities. Crest and CVS want to make sure you and your family practice good oral care during this season of extra sweets. When you stop at CVS to get your candy, you can stock up on Crest too because they are having some great deals!
11. Emergency Preparedness
- Discuss a meeting point or plan in case of separation from the group during trick-or-treating.
- Teach children how and when to call emergency services if needed. They should know it is OK to call 911, in case of an emergency.
Conclusion
Halloween can be a very fun holiday for everyone in the family. Although there can be great concerns, there are many ways you can keep your children protected from the criminal element. Don’t give in to paranoia but do prepare your children as best as you possibly can. These are the years that they will look back on with nostalgia. To stay safe, it is important to take precautions, such as using reflective clothing, ensuring costumes are fire-resistant, and supervising young children while they trick-or-treat. I hope these tips help in keeping your children safe on Halloween. Don’t forget to practice these Halloween safety tips for kids and have fun!
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