Halloween Child Safety

Halloween child safety begins before they leave the house. Whether they are going out tricker-treating in their community or off to a local Halloween party, what they wear is important.

We've all heard about making sure a child's costume allows them to see clearly, move about without tripping and ensures they're comfortable; however, there are a few other things about how a child dresses that we need to consider to keep them safe.

If a child is wearing make-up

Many children wear make-up as a safe alternative to masks, which can cause problems seeing clearly, especially in the dark. Many parents choose make-up as a great alternative. But, before the big night test a small area of skin, at least 24 hours before the child wears it for an extended time just to make sure there is no allergy to the make up your using. Don't just test anywhere as different areas of the body may be more sensitive so a good idea is to test around the back of the neck (the hairline will hide this for the test period) or behind the ears, close to where the child will actually apply their make up for the big night.

Does the Costume Have Accessories or Props?

If the costume has accessories, such as a Fairy Wand or a Sword make a close inspection for sharp edges, broken pieces and if plastic, cracks. These items can really make a costume look terrific but they can hurt! A safer alternative it to home-make the costume accessories out of safe material such as poster board or cardboard. Some children can become very excited about the big night and will be 'in character', so if they have an accessory such as a pretend knife or sword make sure they understand that the props are for fun so when showing their friend they meet up with or Grandma what a great Pirate they are, go over the safety rules so they understand how to 'play safe'

Put A Couple of Safe Treats From Home in Pockets

Every year we tell our children to make sure they bring home ALL the candy before they have some. This is excellent and crucial advice to keeping our children safe but one that is very difficult for them to do - and we can all understand the call of some chocolate! Many children have been checking out the treats Mom or Dad brought home for the big night so have them choose a couple of treats, make sure they know these are the safe treats and if they would like one while they are out getting goodies these are a great safe choice. Avoid gum, hard candy or other items that are easy to choke on, especially while they are out moving about and excited to get to the next house. Important! Please do not let your child choose a peanut treat to take with them. As many of us have children with serious peanut allergies, your child 'share' a safe treat so no peanuts please!

Your House

To help your child understand how important safety is have them help you make your house safe. Have them look outside their house, on the driveway, walkway, front porch etc and see if they can find things that should be moved for the tricker-treaters coming to your house. Suggest putting a battery operated tea-light in your pumpkin instead of a candle, remove any item a child or adult may trip over, let them decide what lights to put on and get them to 'test' approaching the door to see if the visibility up to your door is good.

Don't forget about pet safety on Halloween too. If you have pets, have your child help get them settled in the house somewhere with their own pet treat for Halloween so their pet is also safe and not able to run outside.

Don't Forget About the Every Year Checklist

Every year it is a great idea to go over the more obvious safety tips and we have listed many below so you have everything you need to consider before they leave the house:

1. If wearing a mask, double check the eye-holes allow for good visibility

2. Do the same for the mouth hole

3. Walk only on the sidewalk, and LOOK LRL! Left Right Left

4. When possible use cross walks and other safe spots to cross the street

5. Avoid zig-zag patterns, go up one side of the street then the other

6. If a child is old enough to go out alone, make sure they travel in groups

7. Put some reflective tape on their costume for good visibility

8. Attach your child's first name and phone number to their clothing - many places recommend your child's full name and address, at New Child Safety we disagree, that's too much information. Their first name and your phone number is all that is necessary

9. Go over a very very important rule before heading out. Always bring home all treats before any are eaten!!!!!

10. Encourage having fun! We need to be responsible about safety by giving our children good information and help them learn to make safe choices but we do not want to have them focused on being hurt, harmed or scared. Let them know safety is important and once you've made good safety choices it is time to have fun!

There is mounting evidence that chocolate and specifically certain types actually have health benefits. You might even be able to convince the little ones to share a bit this year!

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_102237.html

We just want to say thanks for dropping by New Child Safety. We hope you found some useful information here on our Halloween Safety Edition lens and if you did we did our job! If you have suggestions for us please don't go yet, scroll up a tad and leave us a message, we would love to hear from you.

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