Halloween is a great time of year for you and your kids to have fun, but keep a few simple tips in mind to make it fun AND safe.
Keeping Trick-or-Treating Safe
Make sure children:
- Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.
- Wear flame-resistant costumes.
- Have a flashlight or glow stick while trick-or-treating to help visibility.
- Walk and don’t run from house to house.
- Look both ways before crossing the street, and use established crosswalks. Children should only walk on sidewalks when and where possible or on the far edge of the road facing traffic.
- Have reflective tape on costumes and bags to be visible to drivers.
- Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
- Allow you to examine all treats for choking hazards and any signs of tampering.
Children should NOT:
- Enter homes of strangers unless they’re with a trusted adult.
- Stop at dark houses.
- Accept rides from strangers.
- Get close to lit candles.
- Trick-or-treat alone.
- Be distracted by electronic devices.
- Eat homemade treats made by strangers.
Make Sure Your House Is Safe for Trick-or-Treaters and Party-Goers
- Check for damage to your roof, and clean gutters and downspouts to keep debris from accumulating so guests can move about your property safely.
- Make sure that driveways and walkways are clean and well maintained.
- Have adequate lighting at transitions between the driveway and the walkway to prevent a potentially dangerous situation where someone could trip or fall.
Decorate safely
- Don’t overload electrical outlets when plugging in décor, especially older decorations and those in older homes.
- When it comes to setting up outdoor decorations, follow manufacturer instructions carefully.
- Use battery-operated “candles” instead of the real thing wherever possible.
- If you are going to use candles, such as inside of Jack-o’-Lanterns, make sure they are away from fabric, trees or decorations that could catch fire.
- Don’t forget how easily real candles can be knocked over by a pet, guest, or child, so keep a working fire extinguisher nearby and ready to use.
Drive safely
- More than twice as many children are killed in pedestrian-car accidents on Halloween between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Be especially alert for children during these times.
- Slow down and stay alert in residential areas. Children are enthusiastic on Halloween and may dart out suddenly onto roadways.
- Take more time to look for pedestrians at intersections, medians and curbs.
- Enter and exit driveways slowly and carefully.
- Get rid of distractions, such as your phone, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
- Turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances.
