Halloween Safety Tips

Everyone wants to have a safe and happy Halloween for themselves, their guests and their children. Using safety tips and common sense can help you make the most of your Halloween season and make it as enjoyable for your kids as it is for you.

Anytime a child has an accident, it’s tragic. The last thing that you want to happen is for your child to be hurt on a holiday. There are many ways to keep your child safe at Halloween, when they are more prone to accidents and injuries. The excitement of children and adults at this time of year sometimes makes them forget to be careful. Simple common sense can do a lot to stop any tragedies from happening.

Here are a few safety tips for everyone to follow:

1. Always make sure to carry a flashlight and children should walk, not run from house to house and use the sidewalk if available, rather than walk in the street.

2. Obey traffic signals and stay on sidewalks also don?t cut across yards or driveways.

3. Since its holiday time stay in familiar neighborhoods and approach houses that are lit.

4. Make sure the costumes your kids wear are of the right fit so that the costumes don?t drag on the ground and they should have reflective marking or tape that will glow in the beam of a car’s headlights.

5. Avoid wearing masks while walking from house to house. Carry only flexible knives, swords or other props.

6. When purchasing a costume, masks, beards, and wigs, look for the label Flame Resistant. Although this label does not mean these items won’t catch fire, it does indicate the items will resist burning and should extinguish quickly once removed from the ignition source. To minimize the risk of contact with candles or other sources of ignition, avoid costumes made with flimsy materials and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts.

7. Make sure your child eats dinner before going out and warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering.

8. Young children should be accompanied by an adult.

9. Make sure your yard is clear of such things as ladders, hoses, dog leashes and flower pots that can trip the young ones.

10. Pets get frightened on Halloween. Put them up to protect them from cars or inadvertently hitting a trick-or-treater.

11. If you have decorated the table with candles make sure they are placed properly and are out of the reach of children.

12. Make sure paper or cloth yard decorations won’t be blown into a flaming candle.