for kids & parents
What can we do to have a great Halloween and keep our children safe and healthy? Check out these Halloween safety tips to ensure a fun time for your family.
Written by: Bright Horizons
Trick or Treat Safety Tips
• Plan a route. Before trick-or-treating talk with your children about where you are going and how many houses you plan to visit. Stick to well-lit houses in familiar neighborhoods only – preferably on streets with sidewalks. • Supervise your children. Go along with your trick-or-treaters but also allow children to safely explore their world and grow their independence skills. Allow younger children to take the lead by ringing the doorbell and saying “Trick or Treat!” For older children, you may want to wait on the sidewalk at each house. • Make your children visible. Go early and carry flashlights. Give your children glow necklaces to wear and put reflective tape on their costumes or clothing. You can buy reflective tape at most hardware stores. • Stay on the sidewalks. Remind your children to stay on the sidewalk and avoid crossing yards. Lawn ornaments, furniture, and other impediments present tripping and falling dangers. Avoid taking shortcuts across backyards or alleys. • Cross at the corner. Stop at all street corners and stay together in a group before crossing. Cross streets at the corner, use crosswalks, and do not cross between parked cars. Remind your children over and over again to look left, right, and left again before crossing the street. • Drive carefully. Drive slowly and follow traffic signals and the rules of the road. Exit driveways and alleyways carefully. Have children get out of your car on the curb side, not on the traffic side. Watch for children in the street and on medians. Expect some children to dart out in front of you.Halloween Candy Safety Tips
Parents should take precautions about Halloween candy safety, but it’s also important to have a realistic sense of harm. It’s easy for the media to give us the sense that the world is a more menacing place than it really is. In the 1980’s, a myth spread about the serious risk of troubled people using poison and razor blades to tamper with Halloween candy. Almost all reports were discredited.
But no amount of debunking can completely alleviate parent anxiety. After all, however rare, it could happen. Some Halloween candy safety precautions include: • For young children, remove anychoking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies, or small toys. • Instruct your children to show you all their candy before eating it so that you can carefully inspect it for tampering. • Tell your children not to accept or eat anything that isn’t commercially wrapped. • Throw out candy or treats that are homemade, unwrapped, or have torn wrapping.Managing Your Child’s Candy Intake
How can you manage the Halloween candy craze? First, to reduce trick- or-treat munching, give your children a snack or light meal before you leave to go trick or treating. Decide ahead of time how many pieces of candy they can eat on Halloween night. Read our e-family archive article for additional tips on managing the Halloween candy craze including dental care tips for kids.Halloween Costume Safety Tips
• If possible, have your children wear clothing that is bright, reflective, and flame retardant. • If your child is carrying a prop, such as sword or pitchfork, make sure that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if your child falls on them. • Avoid long, baggy, or loose costumes to prevent tripping. • Insist that your children wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes. Mom’s high heels are better for costume parties, not trick-or-treating. • Securely fit hats and scarves to prevent them from slipping over your children’s eyes. • Apply a natural mask of cosmetics rather than have your child wear a mask that might restrict breathing or obscure vision. If you use a mask, make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough to allow full vision.
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