Halloween Safety Tips

Dr. Trina Blythe - Way to Grow Pediatrics

Trina Blythe, MD, is a BJC Medical Group pediatrician with Way to Grow Pediatrics.
Location: Progress West Hospital, 20 Progress Point Parkway, Suite 108.
Phone: 636.344.2400.
 

The leaves are on the ground and the nights are cooler, which means Halloween is just around the corner. Here are a few tips to keep your trick or treating princesses and pirates safe.

Costume safety

• Make sure that the child can see well from inside the costume. Avoid masks that obscure your child's vision.
• If it is cold on Halloween night children should wear a coat or jacket over the costume or a long shirt and pants under the costume as appropriate.
• Make sure that the costume does not prevent the child from being able to walk and is not a tripping hazard.

Treat safety

• If possible feed children dinner before going out so that they are a little less tempted to overindulge on candy.
• Consider handing out pencils, stickers and safe toys instead of candy.
• Only go to houses of people you know.
• Limit how many pieces of candy per day to avoid stomach aches.
• All candy should be inspected by an adult before allowing children to eat it.
• Brush teeth after eating candy. Your dentist will thank you.
• Candy that is not in a wrapper or is in a torn wrapper should be discarded.
• Open the chocolate candy before your child eats it.
• Any chocolate that looks like it has melted and solidified again should also be discarded.
• Any chocolate candy that looks like it has white smudges on it or is flaking off should be discarded.
• All toys should be inspected for choking hazards or peeling paint especially with the tiny trick-or-treaters.
• Many dentists have candy buyback programs, consider selling some candy back to your dentist to get it out of the house and away from temptation.

Nighttime Safety

• Children should be accompanied by an adult during trick-or-treating.
• The costumes should be reflective and have some sort of visibility in the dark.
• Children should carry a flashlight.
• Children should stay on sidewalks and use the crosswalks to cross the street so as to be more visible to motorists.
• Older children not accompanied by an adult should have trick-or-treating expectations and safety rules reviewed prior to going out.
• NO property destruction or vandalism.
• They should NOT enter the homes of people they do not know.
• Avoid homes with a dog barking or prowling.
• If participating in a Trunk or Treat, parking lot safety rules apply especially towards the end of the event as people are starting to drive out of the parking lot.