Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year for kids—and one of the most stressful times for parents as they worry about sugar highs and safety.
Can you guess what is the most common injury to children on Halloween?
Pedestrian injuries are the most common injuries among young children on Halloween—which shouldn't be surprising given the fact that most families go trick-or-treating from house to house in the neighborhood.
Luckily, there are some precautions you can take to make sure your toddler has a safe holiday. Here are a few Halloween safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
- Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
- Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and Trick-or-Treat bags for greater visibility.
- If a sword, cane, or stick is a part of your child's costume, make sure it is not sharp or too long. A child may be easily hurt by these accessories if he stumbles or trips.
- Small children should never carve pumpkins. Children can draw a face with markers. Then parents can do the cutting.
- To keep homes safe for visiting trick-or-treaters, parents should remove from the porch and front yard anything a child could trip over such as garden hoses, toys, bikes and lawn decorations.
- A parent or responsible adult should always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds.
- Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. If no sidewalk is available, walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic.
- Only cross the street as a group in established crosswalks (as recognized by local custom). Never cross between parked cars or out driveways.
What do you do to make sure your toddler has a safe Halloween?
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Comments (5)
We are going trunk or treating, so things are a leetle bit safer. That being said...#1 safety tip (especially for small children) is parental supervision! DS's costume is a little bit dark this year so we might go with some reflective tape...but where we are, I don't really think it will make a difference. If we were doing things in the city, I wouldn't hesitate.
To the above poster.. I've never heard of Trunk or treating ? What's that all about ?
Yes I agree, Adult supervision is the #1 safety tip and also instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to be examined by you.
Move any Jack O' Lanterns with a real candle AWAY from trick or treaters. Most costumes are HIGHLY FLAMMABLE and melt to the skin.
BaezBoyz-
Trunk or treating is normally done at a church or community center. All the cars pull up, park, turn off engines and the trick or treaters go around to the trunks! Im from a very very rural community so its a better and safer way to do it, theres tons of adults present so you dont have to worry about something happening on the long stretches of dirt road out there, and the type of people who are actually going to come out is a little bit better.
Trunk or treating sounds like a cool idea. My Church has the kids gather there for food, games, and candy. We call it Hallelujah Night.
This year we're taking my daughter to Disney Magic Kingdom for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. It's for the most save because there are no cars. Plus it's going to be lots of fun since it is Disney.