13 Tips for a Safe Halloween

Halloween is around the corner, and your young child is likely excited, thinking about the best costume or all the candy she’ll get. However, the Halloween concerns for parents are slightly different. Here are 13 ways you can ensure your child will have a safe Halloween experience.

  1. Select costumes that won’t inhibit your child’s movement, vision, or breathing.
  2. Use nontoxic face paint instead of a potentially unsafe mask.
  3. Avoid costumes that are not labeled as “flame-retardant.”
  4. If your child’s heart is set on a dark-colored costume, add reflective or glow-in-the-dark stickers to increase visibility while trick-or-treating. Flashlights or glow sticks can also be carried by your child.
  5. Make sure your child’s costume is appropriate for the weather. This may mean wearing some warmer layers underneath.
  6. Write your child’s name, address, and phone number and attach it to his costume.
  7. If your family is pumpkin-carving, ensure your child does not handle any knives or sharp objects. Instead, she can draw a design on the pumpkin and you or an older child can carve it out.
  8. Keep your house safe for other trick-or-treaters by removing any potential obstacles or harmful objects from the path to your door and your yard.
  9. If your child will be trick-or-treating with a trusted adult, ask him or her to let you know what route they’ll be taking. Stick to a neighborhood you know.
  10. Make sure your child knows what to do while crossing the road, and is always holding the hand of an adult and looking both ways as they do so. Teach them to cross at designated crossings and not to dart out into the road.
  11. Supervise children around jack-o-lanterns while trick-or-treating, and beware of candles.
  12. Inspect all candy before your child eats any. Look for tampered packaging, or unwrapped treats from sources you don’t know. Make sure the candy doesn’t pose a choking hazard.
  13. Instead of trick-or-treating, you may want to consider organizing a Halloween party for neighborhood children or your child’s friends.

Ensuring that your child’s costume allows him to move and breathe freely, practicing safe trick-or-treating, and inspecting all candy before he eats it are just some of the ways your child will have a safe – and fun – Halloween