Halloween Safety Tips For Parents

Kids love Halloween for the fun activities, the costumes, and the candy! But with all the Halloween ideas and events, practicing safety on Halloween becomes extra important. Below are a few Halloween safety tips for parents so your family can enjoy Halloween.

Trick or Treat Safety

Pedestrian injuries to young children are the most common injuries on Halloween night. That being said, it’s important to practice caution and Halloween safety while trick-or-treating. Educate yourself and your children with these following tips before heading out!

• Stay together in a group. If your children are old enough to go alone, communicate where they can go and where they will be going.
• Stick to well-lit streets. If this isn’t an option, make sure you are carrying flashlights and are wearing reflective gear.
• Look both ways before you cross the street and never cross between parked cars or in front of a driveway. If there is a sidewalk, walk on it!
• If you are driving, watch for children and drive slowly! Some children will be hard to see so expect them to be darting out in front of you.
• Only go to homes that have the lights on and teach your children visual clues to determine who might be passing out candy. (Lights on, pumpkins outside, decorations, etc.)

And remember, there are a lot of Halloween ideas to celebrate with your child during the day! Visit us in Downtown Lakeville, the Saturday before Halloween, for face painting, fall photo opportunities, and trick-or-treat the street. (This is a family-friendly activity during the day – great for little ones!)

Pro Tip: Most people go trick or treating in neighborhoods between the hours of 5:30pm-9pm.

Pumpkin Carving the Safe Way

Carving pumpkins is a traditional Halloween activity that can’t be missed! Typically, the weekend before Halloween is the best time to get pumpkins carved. This also becomes one of the busiest times for adults and children to end up in the ER from carving injuries.

Children under the age of 5 are too young to use a knife for pumpkin carving. No matter how much they beg, it’s not safe. That doesn’t mean that you have to do all the work. In fact, carving pumpkins is an activity that can be enjoyed at any age!

Here are some ideas on how to keep your young one entertained and involved while carving pumpkins.

• Scooping out pumpkin guts – get a large spoon and a bowl and let them scoop the insides of the pumpkin into the bowl. (If you like to eat the pumpkin seeds, have them pick out the seeds in a separate bowl.)
• Drawing the face you are going to cut out – let your child draw the “face” (or design) they want on the pumpkin for you to cut out.
• Use a stencil – tape a stencil onto the pumpkin and let them poke dots onto the pumpkin to trace the outline.
• Skip carving and use your crafts – carving your pumpkin isn’t a requirement! Break out the paints and crafts and get creative!

Pro Halloween Ideas: Pick your pumpkin up and it if feels heavier than it looks, that may indicate thicker, and harder to carve walls. And skip the white pumpkins all together as those tend to be rock hard.

Halloween Costume Safety Tips

The easiest way to practice Halloween safety this Halloween is to make sure your child has a costume that enables them to see and be seen. What does this mean?

• Hats and masks can make it hard for children to see at night when they are trick-or-treating. Consider using non-toxic makeup or smaller decorative hats instead.
• Wear costumes that are bright and reflective. Reflective tape and glow sticks are easy and cheap ways that can be added to any costume.
• Dress for the weather! Add layers if needed or throw a coat on them if they will be outside.

Fun Fact: In 2018 the 3 most popular costumes are Fortnight, SpiderMan, and a Unicorn!

Halloween Candy – Check It First!

Tainted Halloween Candy isn’t as common as you may think. Still, we still recommend checking your children’s candy just to be on the safe side. Below are tips on what to look for!

• Remind children to let you check their candy before they begin to eat it.
• Remove choking hazard for young children. Gum, popcorn, small toys, hard candies, and peanuts should all be discarded for children under 4.
• Homemade treats or individually wrapped treats should not be eaten unless you are 100% certain who it came from and know them well.
• Check for spoiled, unwrapped, or suspicious treats. Remember, when in doubt, throw it out!

Fun Fact: Circus peanuts, candy corn, and wax coke bottles are the top 3 worst candies to get on Halloween according to a survey.

For more information on Halloween Safety Tips for Parents, click here to watch a short video by the American Academy of Pediatrics or visit their webpage here.