Safety Tips for a Spooktacular Halloween

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Halloween is a fun-fill time for both children and parents. While picking out costumes,  trick-or-treating with friends, attending Halloween parities, and marching in parades, safety is something that should always be in the back of your mind.

Here are a few helpful hints and tips from Ebenezer Child Care Centers to help make this year’s Halloween successful and safe:

Costume Safety

  • Choose costumes that are light-colored so that your child is more visible to motorists. If you select a dark costume, have your child use a white pillowcase as a candy bag to help them stand out. You can also use reflective tape, which can be purchased at a hardware, bicycle or sporting goods store, to help make your child stand out.
  • Make sure your child’s costume is ‘flame-retardant’. This means that the costume won’t burn.
  • Avoid over sized costumes and shoes that may cause your child to trip or fall.
  • Use make-up instead of masks to ensure your child’s vision will not be blocked when walking or crossing the street, or will be hindering their breathing. Make sure wigs and beards also aren’t covering your child’s eyes, nose or mouth. If your child’s costume comes with a mask, make sure the eye holes are wide enough to allow full vision.

Trick-or-Treating

  • Make sure children under the age of 12 are supervised by an adult or teen if you can’t be there with them. Make sure your child can get a hold of you, and that they know their home number, the cell phone number of parents or another adult they trust. Make sure they know how to call 911 in case they become lost or endangered.
  • Go in a group of three or more children – there is safety in numbers. Plan a specific route, and make sure to keep the route to familiar streets and neighborhoods.
  • Give kids flashlights with new batteries.
  • Review pedestrian rules so that your child knows to remember to cross the street at corners, wait for walk signals, and stay on the sidewalks. Remind them to walk, not run, between houses.
  • Do not enter homes or apartments without adult supervision.

Check Out the Candy Goods

  • Instruct your child to wait until they get home to eat any of the candy they receive.
  • Check candy wrappers for tears, loose packages, or holes that may indicate the candy could have been tampered with. Do not let your child eat anything that isn’t sealed unless you know the source that it came from.
  • Remove choking hazards for young children, including hard candies, small toys, peanuts or gum.
  • Keep candy wrappers away from pets. Chocolate can be deadly to animals, so make sure you store candy well out of your pet’s reach.
  • Regulate your child’s candy intake and store the candy somewhere other than in their bedroom. Let them have a treat or two a day instead of leaving the candy out for them to have whenever they want.

Take these quick and easy precautions to help your child have a happy and safe Halloween!