It’s Spooky Season! Keep the Scares Out of Your Trick-or-Treating Fun with These Safety Tips

Halloween is a time when children and adults enjoy costumes, candies, and delightful frights, but essential safety tips should be kept top of mind to keep the magic in Halloween! Halloween night is the most common evening for childhood pedestrian injuries. This blog will cover tips to keep you and your loved ones safe this Trick-Or-Treating season!

Costume Safety

• Wear bright and reflective clothing. If possible, consider adding reflective tape or strips to your costume if possible. This will allow motorists to see you.
• Shoes, wigs, hats, and all accessories should fit properly to avoid tripping and visual hazards.
• Avoid decorative eye lenses without an assessment from an eye care professional. Serious eye injuries have resulted from decorative lens use.
• Watch for skin irritation when wearing makeup. Be sure to remove makeup prior to bedtime.

Street Safety

• Accompany all young children while walking through neighborhoods.
• Encourage older children to travel in groups. Establish a specific, pre-determined route acceptable to you and a pre-determined curfew.
• Travel by flashlight and bring extra batteries.
• Trick-or-treat in well-lit and safe neighborhoods.
• Educate children on “stranger danger”! Children should not enter a stranger’s home or vehicle for a special treat.

Home Preparation

• Consider removing tripping hazards such as fall decorations, rugs, and leaves from walkways.
• Check your outdoor lights and replace light bulbs as needed. Turn your lights on so your trick-or-treaters can see well!
• Keep your pets with you and restrained. Children are the most prone to pet bites!

Food Safety

• Check all treats prior to eating. Look for spoiled, unwrapped, or tampered food. Throw away anything that may seem suspicious.
• Consider non-food treats to reduce the risk of allergic reactions.
• If you have small children, avoid choking hazards such as gummy candy, seeds, nuts, candy wrappers, stickers, small toys, and temporary tattoos.

Safety on the Roads

• Cross streets using a designated crosswalk.
• Be careful when entering and exiting driveways and alleyways when driving a vehicle.
• Discourage new and inexperienced drivers from driving on Halloween.

Halloween is a fun and magical time. Use these tips to keep Trick-or-Treating fun and memorable for you and your family. Here at Athletico, we wish you a Happy Halloween! If you or your little ones do experience an injury, seek medical attention promptly or consider a free assessment from your closest Athletico physical therapist.

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*Per federal guidelines, beneficiaries of plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VHA and other federally funded plans are not eligible for free assessments.

The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.

References:
1. Halloween Health & Safety Tips. HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/all-around/Pages/Halloween-Safety-Tips.aspx
2. Halloween Safety- National Safety Council. Nsc.org. Published 2024. Accessed October 6, 2024. https://www.nsc.org/community-safety/safety-topics/seasonal-safety/autumn-safety/halloween?srsltid=AfmBOorNM12lCU0XAnHhsHXY1tjUZP_c1johIee2x-VPChMwsV7vkzI0
3. Sadiqa Kendi, Johnston B. Epidemiology and Prevention of Child Pedestrian Injury. Pediatrics. 2023;152(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-062508