Halloween is a fun time of year where kids enjoy dressing up and go out to get candy! It’s a great time of year where kids can get creative with their costumes, spend some time with their friends giggling about their costumes or when they scare each other, and when they get to enjoy the delicious candy they receive! Children love to trick or treat!
While we, as parents or guardians, can share in our kids’ joys during Halloween, we also need to consider practicing safety when going out this time of year. There are many things to consider, most of which we may not even think about if someone didn’t tell us. Below are 5 ways we can stay safe during Halloween.
Costume Safety
When creating outfits for your children or looking for ones to buy, there are some essential things to consider:
Wear Flame-retardant Costumes
Halloween is the time of year where people light up pumpkins and candles as scary decor, and these, in turn, can pose a serious risk to a costume! To prevent any costumes from catching fire, look for flame-retardant clothing materials. Make sure to skip any outfits that are donned in glitter, because some glitter is considered a fire hazard!
According to CPSC, the material must pass what’s known as “CFR 1610”, which is considered the Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles.
Avoid Masks
While wearing masks can be a lot of fun on Halloween night, they are also considered very dangerous because they block the person’s view – which can hurt the pedestrian or someone driving. Your child should wear costumes that don’t have masks so that they can see where they’re going to avoid accidents.
There are many costumes out there that don’t require masks, so opt for those! If you do decide to allow your child to wear a mask, make sure you practice extra vigilance for them by holding their hands and looking more carefully where you and your kids are going while on the streets and sidewalks. If your child is by themselves, make sure they know how to be safe while wearing a mask.
Avoid Long Costumes
There are many costumes out there that include capes, trains, and dangling, long sleeves, and these types of costumes should really be avoided. If you decide to have your child wear these types of outfits, you’ll need to keep a closer eye on them because your kid can trip on their costume, or worse – could also catch fire on pumpkins and candles! Simple outfits are a better, safer option! If you do decide on longer costumes, practice extra vigilance in this case as well!
Dress Warmly
October tends to be a cold time of the year, and Halloween is not always an exception – so, have your child dress warmly! Layer up the costumes and have your kids wear mittens, hats, scarves if they need to. Staying warm will not only decrease the risk of your kid catching a cold but will also allow them and yourself to enjoy the fun night festivities a lot more!
Road Safety
While costume safety is imperative on Halloween night, so is road safety! Please keep the following in mind when enjoying the night out.
Visibility
Keep in mind that Halloween is a busy night of the year, where children and adults are running all over the place full of excitement; and that there are more cars on the road. With this in mind, make sure your child wears a light reflector sticker so that vehicles and other people can see him or her, to avoid any serious accidents! Light reflectors help with safer visibility.
Street Smarts
Practice street smarts by looking both ways when crossing the streets with your child, walk on the sidewalk – don’t run, and always assume that the road will be busier than you expect. Make sure your child understands these same rules if they are out on their own. Practicing safe street smarts not only protects your child but also ensures the safety of others who are walking or driving on the road.
Supervision Safety
Halloween is a time of year where holding your children’s hands is especially important! It’s such a busy time of night where kids are running to and fro from house to house – making it easier for a child to get lost! As a parent or guardian, you must make sure the children you’re with are with you at ALL times! Walk together in large groups, hold hands where needed, have a game plan to meet up at a place where you started, and don’t leave your children or group alone ever!
If your child is going out with friends that night for Halloween, make sure he or she and their friends know that staying together is safe and imperative for Halloween safety! Give your child a cell phone to call you if they need to, too! Make sure that before they go out, they have a safe game plan, and that they are committed to following it! If you feel that your child is not responsible enough to go out with friends yet, go with your gut and give them another year before they can go out – it’s genuinely better safe than sorry!
Treats Safety
It’s amazing how much candy, chips, food, and drinks your child can come home with on Halloween night! As parents, we need to be very cautious about what they ingest because a lot of things could trigger their food allergies, could pose a choking hazard, or even include poison by some dangerous people that think it’s funny! Go through their candy before they do and take out what’s dangerous for them. Read wrappers and toss out any that include ingredients that can affect your child’s allergies, such as nuts, dairy, gluten, etc.
If your child is older, teach them what to look for, what to avoid, and why.
Also, while enjoying the treats from Halloween, parents need to be aware of how much their children can over-indulge. Make sure you have a set rule of how many treats your child can have per day and that night so that they don’t hurt their little tummies and make themselves sick.
These Tips Include Adults Too
While these tips are focused on children who go out on Halloween, some of us adults enjoy the thrill of dressing up as well, so please keep these tips in mind for yourself as well!
Have Fun this Halloween and Stay Safe
Halloween can be such a fun time of year, and it’s a fantastic time of year for children to get creative and have a ton of fun!
Practice Halloween Safety when going out, and enjoy the ghoulish festivities with a peace of mind that you have done everything you could to keep your child safe. Your child will also thank you! Trick or treat!
Share in the comments below: What is ONE safety lesson you learned from these 5 tips that you never considered before?