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Ready for a safe Halloween

By Fergus
October 9, 2009 at 5:15 pm

Ready for a safe Halloween?

It’s nearly that time of the year…Halloween! The time when children
dress up in wonderful and outrageous costumes to knock on doors and
gather endless bags of treats. However we need to make sure we are safe.
Here are ten top tips on staying safe this Halloween:

1. Costumes. Make sure the costumes you buy are flame retardant.
They should fit well and not be too long so kids can walk without
tripping. Choose a costume that will keep you warm enough for the chilly
night trick or treating. Avoid costumes and accessories that are sharp
or pointy.
2. Be visible. Costumes that are reflective or bright are best so
they are visible by car drivers. If the costume is dark, consider adding
some reflective tape to the costume.
3. Masks. Be wary of masks since they can obscure vision. They are
usually difficult to wear for any length of time. Nothing wrong with
wearing make-up, boys.
4. Pumpkins. Be careful when carving pumpkins. We don’t want you
have a real gory injury on Halloween. Also if your going to light your
pumpkin up then think about fire safety/burns.
5. Your Home. Before the little ghouls and goblins start arriving,
make sure your home is ready. Make sure your walkway is clear and lit so
that kids don’t trip over.
6. Pets. Pets should be secured in a back part of the house. All
the excitement and noise can upset them. You do not want them getting
loose, or worse – biting a child.
7. Safety outside. Night comes earlier this time of year and
motorists may have trouble seeing the little ones if they dart out.
There are pedestrian accidents every year during Halloween. Use extra
caution if you are driving.
8. Safe Trick or Treating. An adult must always go with small
children. Teach your child to only go to homes where the lights are on.
They should never enter inside a home.
9. Safety in Numbers. Older kids will probably want to go without
parents, but lay down some rules first. Make kids stay together. Plan
the route they will take, so they can find each other if one person gets
lost, and you know where to go looking for them if you need to. Remind
them to remain on the streets, not to cut across through alley ways
10. Treat Safety. Once your kids get home, go through their sweets.
Throw out any suspicious or unwrapped items. Apples should be washed and
cut up into pieces. Limit the sweets children eat. If you have a food
allergy and you’re not sure of the sweets contents then don’t take the
risk. Diabetics – you know to be careful, don’t want your night being
ruined!

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Tags: halloween, safety tips

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under First aid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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