Safety Halloween Safety - Old Tricks and New Tips
By Julie Joyce
May 26, 2006, 15:25
# 1 - Home Safety Tips: Evaluate your home inside and outside for fire safety hazards and accidental injury hazards. Halloween decorations should not be assembled or operated in a way that will create a fire risk or accidental injury. Electrical or candle lit decorations should be monitored and maintained safely. Keep obstructions away from the path that will be used by trick-or-treaters.
# 2 - Costume Safety Tips: Choose costumes using care and common sense. Despite annual reminders, many children are outfitted with dangerous apparel. Children should not wear costumes or accessories that will obstruct their view, especially their peripheral vision. Costumes should also not have sections that could restrict movement or create a tripping hazard. Any costume props should be avoided if they could create an injury hazard.
If you decide to skip the mask and use face paints, make sure that they are non-toxic, hypoallergenic and safe for children.
Do your best to choose flame resistant costumes. Many homes may have candle lit pumpkin decorations that could become a fire hazard to flowing costumes. Make sure that your child knows to "stop/drop/roll" if their costume catches on fire.
# 3 - Neighborhood Safety Tips: As ghosts, goblins and other creatures converge upon the streets in your town, do your best to be extra careful while driving. Children may be wearing costumes that obstruct their view or create a tripping hazard. Do your best to keep a watchful and careful eye as you travel about.
# 4 - Trick-or-treating Safety Tips: It is a good idea to feed the kids before venturing out. This will reduce the risk that they will try to eat some treats before you have a chance to inspect them for tampering or other concerns. Make it clear to your kids that NO treats should be eaten before you inspect them.
Children should not trick-or-treat without adult supervision. Halloween can bring out some ghoulish bullies and behaviors. Your supervision helps to protect your child from adult predators, bully pranksters and potential accidents.
Check with you local town management to make sure that you are complying with the authorized trick-or-treat time schedule. It is best to trick-or-treat only during daylight hours. However, if you expect to be out after dusk make sure that your trick-or-treaters are carrying flashlights, lighted necklaces, reflective shoes and or reflective clothing.
Plan a safe route for your children. Stay on well lit blocks that you are familiar with. Cross streets at corners when traffic is clear. Avoid alleys, backyard short cuts and unpopulated areas. Only approach the front door of homes that are well lit. Children should never go into a stranger's home to get a treat. This creates a dangerous situation.
Children should not approach or touch people's pets along the route. If approached by a mean looking dog, children should be told to stay still and act like tree. This will hopefully cause the dog to lose interest in the children.
Make sure that you dispose of any treats that are questionable or unsafe for your child. It is also wise to ration out the treats in a limited fashion to reduce the risk of serious tooth decay. The real fun is in getting the treats, not eating them.
# 5 - Unacceptable behaviors, tricks and dangers: It is not unusual for someone (even adults) to wear a mask that conceals their identity on Halloween. This creates a frightening opportunity for a child abductor to approach and abduct a child that is not accompanied by an adult. It also makes it more difficult to describe an abductor who is wearing a Halloween mask. This is another important reason for children to be adequately supervised while trick-or-treating.
It is also possible that children could be approached by a stranger in a car. They should follow the everyday safety rule: never go into anyone's car without your parent's permission.
Make it clear to your children that it is not acceptable behavior for them to engage in any pranks that damage or vandalize anyone's property. They should also understand that they should never play cruel tricks on younger children or be cruel to animals. How will they know that you do not approve of this behavior if you never tell them?
About
the Author(s) : Julie Joyce (the "Super Safety Mom") is a Child and Family Safety Expert, committed to teaching parents how to protect their kids. She is the Editor of FamilySafety101.com and the "Family Safety Alert" newsletter. Go to: http://www.FamilySafety101.com
