Keeping your child safe during Halloween

It’s a monster mash! Children are lining up at front doors throughout the neighborhood in their scary costumes and filling up their buckets with candy. The kids are excited to be dressed as their favorite characters and roam the streets, but it can be a dangerous holiday. Here are some tips to make sure your Halloween is safe while keeping it spooky!

Avoid dark costumes

Haunted houses and trick-or-treating are the main attractions on Halloween, and if your family is going to be out on the street in the late evening, it’s best that everyone is clearly visible. According to Safe Kids USA, children are more than twice as likely to be killed by a car while walking on Halloween night than at any other time of the year.

Be sure to decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers. Have kids use glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers.

Avoid wearing masks

If your children plan on dressing up as their favorite superhero, that’ll likely involve a mask to hide their secret identity. A mask separates Barry Allen from the Flash and Laura Lance from the Black Canary, but they can also impair your sidekick’s vision, which can be dangerous if they don’t see vehicles coming or even if they trip over something as innocuous as a tree branch.

Opting for non-toxic face paint and makeup can help conceal their secret identity while still keeping them safe so they are ready to fight crime—after they’re done trick-or-treating of course.

Map out their route

It can be tempting for children to follow crowds from door to door to fill their goody bags as much as they can, but going into unfamiliar neighborhoods can lead to a long and tiresome journey home. Children under 12 years old should not be alone at night without adult supervision, and if your children are old enough to go without you, make sure they stay in well-lit areas in familiar neighborhoods and with their trick-or-treating groups.

Check their goody bags

Halloween is full of scary stories about ghosts, goblins, headless horsemen and haunted houses, but no story is more bone-chilling to a parent than that of finding something dangerous in your child’s goody bag.

Be sure to inspect your child’s candy and toss out anything that seems suspicious. While the urban legend about poisonous candy is mostly just a myth, it’s best to be on the cautious side during Halloween. There will always be more candy!

Make sure everything fits and is safe

Nothing can ruin a child’s Halloween like an injury because of their costume. Having a costume that is too big or shoes that don’t fit properly can cause discomfort or increase your child’s chance of tripping. Be sure to have your child try on their costume before the big day and hem anything that is too long.

If your child’s costume has props, make sure that it is a safe material, such as rubber or plastic. Maybe your little pirate needs their sword, but make sure it won’t injure them or their friends—and be extra cautious when wearing the eye-patch.

Halloween is a day of anticipation, followed by a night of excitement! Be sure to have a very happy—and safe—Halloween!