Shake's of Orange Park Blog

How to Keep Your Kids Safe on Halloween

Halloween safety tips are pretty self explanatory, right? Not really. A new study of 935 parents by Safe Kids found that only 35 percent of parents talk to their children about Halloween safety each year, yet children are twice as likely to be killed by vehicles on this night than on any other night of the year. Not only that, but 12 percent of parents allowed their children under the age of five to go trick or treating by themselves (crazy right??). So what are the key safety tips to go over with your children?

Trick or Treating Safety Tips on the Road

• Parents should accompany any child under the age of 12, and if children are old enough to go out alone, they should go in groups.
• Trick or treaters should always walk on the sidewalks or against traffic if there are no sidewalks, and should only cross at crosswalks or intersections.
• Wear costumes or carry bags or objects that have reflective qualities or glow in the dark.
• Drivers should turn their headlights on earlier in the day and anticipate that there will be more pedestrians out and about as well as be aware that costumes may inhibit children's ability to see oncoming vehicles.

Costume and Candy Safety Tips

In addition to staying safe on the road, it's important that children's costumes are also safe. To prevent falls and injury, costumes should not be loose fitting and children should not be allowed to carry sticks or sharp objects. Masks are also considered a safety hazard as they can limit vision so be extra cautious if they are an essential part of the child's costume, which this study found was the case 40 percent of the time. 

Parents also need to check the treats collected by their little goblins to make sure they haven't been tampered with. Any wrapper that is faded, torn or unwrapped should be discarded.

Halloween is supposed to a fun night for kids and following these simple safety tips will help ensure that everyone has a good time and makes it home safe and sound. 


Source: www.safekids.com