Halloween can be both fun and frightening. With Halloween just a couple of weeks away the American Red Cross would like to remind you of a couple of tips and tricks to keep you safe while you trick or treat.
For Children:
- Never go into a strangers house, even if you are invited in you should stay on the doorstep in plain sight of bystanders. Not everyone is nice to children on Halloween and someone you don’t know might trick you.
- Be careful crossing the street. Make sure to look both ways for vehicles before crossing.
- Wear a bright costume or consider wearing reflective stickers on your costume to help make you visible to drivers while trick or treating.
- Have an adult you know accompany you on your trick or treating, if this isn’t possible plan a route and make sure somebody knows where you plan to and when you should be back.
- Watch out for jack-o-lanterns, as awesome as they are they often have a candle inside making them a fire hazard. To reduce the chance of becoming like the inside of a jack-o-lantern wear a tight fitting costume or one that is flame retardant.
- Only visit houses with a bright porch light, dark porches can have hiding ghouls or the homeowners might not be home.
- Only walk on sidewalks, don’t walk in the street unless to cross and don’t cut across peoples lawns.
- If your costume has a prop like a knife, pitchfork, or a sword, make sure it has a soft flexible tip so it can’t cause any harm.
- Don’t use masks with small eye-holes, they can limit your vision making them unsafe. Instead try to use face paint as an alternative.
For Adults:
- Have your kids bring their candy back for you to check before they eat it, this is important; you don’t want them eating something harmful. Plus you get to take first pick of their loot!
- Accompany your kids while trick or treating. If you can’t go see if they can go with their friends parents. If all else fails, plan a route with them and make sure you know when they will get back.
- Kids are foolish sometimes. Make sure they know the difference between a trick and vandalism; it’s not cool to egg someone’s house.
- Serve your kids a filling meal before they go out trick or treating, this will help them from overeating candy and becoming sick.
- Warn your kids to be kind to avoid any stray animals they find at night. If it is a friendly pet, make sure they know not to feed it candy or hurt it in any way.
For Homeowners:
- Make sure your porch and pathway is well lit, this will help prevent tripping or confusion as to where little goblins and ghouls should walk.
- If you won’t be home, leave a note at the door letting trick or treaters know that you are not there and can’t offer them candy.
- Keep any household pets inside. Even though you may love your dog, it may frighten small children if it starts barking.
- Use LED bulbs or glow sticks in pumpkins instead of traditional candles to prevent any chances of a fire (glows sticks also have the benefit of looking scarier).
- Clear your porch and walkway of any obstacles that might cause anyone to fall over.
For Everyone:
- Stay vigilant. Halloween is a spooky time, if you see something that looks out of place or a possible safety hazard let someone know so they can fix it or avoid it.
- Don’t stay out too late. Although Halloween is a night of fun and shenanigans head home a little early, the later you stay out the greater chance something bad could happen.
Have fun! Remember Halloween is a holiday, try to enjoy it and you might find yourself acting more like a kid than you thought possible. Eat lots of candy and watch a scary movie or two!
Robert Kovacs
Red Cross Volunteer
Red Cross Central California Blog 