The Department Of Public Safety
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Halloween Safety Tips
Keeping Halloween a Treat for Everyone
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The excitement of Halloween can sometimes make children
forget to be careful. Following are tips for making Halloween a treat for the
entire family.
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Trick-or-Treating:
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Make sure that an adult
or an older responsible youth accompanies young children. |
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Plan and discuss the
trick-or-treat route your children intend to follow, ideally a well-lit,
well-populated course. Instruct your kids to stick to this route, and establish
what time they should return home. |
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Write your child's name,
address and phone number on a piece of paper and slip it in a pocket or pin it
to his or her costume, in case your child gets separated from the group.
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Review pedestrian safety
rules with your children, including looking both ways before crossing the
street and not crossing the street between parked cars. |
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Tell your children to
walk on sidewalks, not on the street. Where there are no sidewalks, children
should walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic. |
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Teach your children to
stop only at homes that are well-lit, and to never enter a stranger's house.
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If you're driving your
kids around to trick-or-treat, make sure they get out of your car on the curb
side, not on the traffic side of the road. |
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Instruct your kids not to
eat any of their treats until they get home. Be sure to wash any fruit and cut
it into small pieces before giving it to your kids to eat. |
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Costumes:
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Knives, swords and other
accessories should be made from cardboard or flexible material. Sharp toys
present all sorts of dangers, including injuring your child if he or she trips
and falls on it.
Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries on Halloween!
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Trim trick-or-treat bags
with reflective tape. |
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Give your children
flashlights to carry so they can be more visible to motorists. |
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If your child is wearing
a mask, make sure that it has large holes for the eyes and mouth. Also, avoid
hats that will slide over your child's eyes. |
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Ideally, costumes should
be flame-retardant. |
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Other Halloween Fun:
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Avoid giving treats that
can be harmful to young children, including gum, peanuts, hard candies and
small toys. Also, remember that many children have food allergies to peanuts
and dairy products. |
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When carving pumpkins,
kids should not be allowed to use knives. It's best to let children clean out
the pumpkin and draw a face on it. |
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If you set out
jack-o-lanterns on your sidewalk or porch, be sure there is enough room for
kids to pass through in groups without the danger of costumes catching on fire.
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Explain to your children
the consequences of vandalism and other antics, such as animal cruelty. Both
are unacceptable and punishable by law. |
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