Tips For a Fun & Safe Halloween
Use Common Sense!
Ask any group of kids what their favorite holidays are, and Halloween will be high on the list. After all, what kid doesn’t enjoy donning costumes and receiving free treats from their neighbors? However, Halloween also presents a variety of safety hazards that every parent and child must consider when venturing out into the night. Here are some helpful tips for staying safe on Halloween:
1. Keep your property well-lit, clear of debris. Be sure to light up the pathway to your door. Mark obstacles, like uneven concrete. tree stumps or roots. Remove others, like garden hoses and flower pots. In addition, kids should be warned to watch where they are going, observe the area in front of them, and avoid any of these aforementioned hazards present on their neighbor’s properties.
2. Consider using battery operated lighting for your pumpkin, rather than candles or other sources of flame. Check your smoke detector batteries if you decide to use candles.
3. Kids should walk between houses, on sidewalks, not across neighbor’s lawns. Cross the street at corners or crosswalks, and look both ways before crossing.
4. Costumes, wigs, and accessories should be flame-resistant. They should also fit well, be the proper length, so your child does not trip over the excess material. Masks should have adequate openings for sight and breathing. Test them before wearing them. Check to see that shoe laces are tied; wear comfortable non-heeled shoes (sneakers or gym shoes preferred).
5. Kids should trick-or-treat accompanied by an adult, carrying a flashlight, with reflective tape on costumes so that they can be easily seen by drivers. At the very least, they should use the buddy system—never trick or treat alone.
6. Do not let children go inside homes to accept candy.
7. Inspect all candy before permitting your child to eat it. Check for proper packaging and seals, throw away anything that has been opened or is not in a sealed package. Review labels for ingredients your child may be allergic to.
8. Parents of young kids should remove any choking hazards, like gum, peanuts, hard candy, or small toys from Halloween goodies.
9. If you have a security camera, keep it on all through Halloween night and use your cell phone app to track suspicious activity.
10. Kids should trick or treat in familiar neighborhoods.
11. Families should plan out the children’s route and stay on one side of the street. Do not permit your child to zig-zag from one side of the street to the other. Have a designated meeting spot in case someone gets lost.
12. Only visit homes that are lit for Halloween.
13. If you or your child is not feeling well, has symptoms of a cold, COVID, or the flu, please stay home. Leave candy on the porch or doorstep and encourage people to reasonably help themselves.
14. Secure/Lock up your pets.
Automobile Safety: On Halloween night, children are over twice as likely to become involved in pedestrian knockdown accidents with vehicles.
Tips for Drivers:
1. If you’re driving on Halloween night, please make sure your headlights are on and clean so that you can spot little ghosts and goblins.
2. DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL, PERIOD!
3. Drive slowly and stay alert. Scan the road in area where kids are likely to be and where sight is limited (like between parked cars or behind shrubbery).
4. Do not use your phone while driving- DON’T DRIVE DISTRACTED. Your attention, especially on this night for kids, should be on the road. X the text and don’t use your phone.
5. Be vigilant with other drivers. If you see someone driving drunk, too fast, or using their phones, call local police.
Tips for Party Hosts:
1. Serve food and non-alcoholic beverages.
2. If alcoholic beverages are served, collect car keys from those who choose to indulge.
3. Call a taxi, Lyft, Uber, or be prepared to drive guests home (provided you’re sober), if they’ve been drinking. In the alternative, permit them to stay the night.
4. Lawyer’s tip: Social host liability may hold you liable for damages to people injured by your intoxicated guests.
And please remember, this is, by no means, an exhaustive list of safety tips. Above all, use common sense!
And kids: Don’t eat too much candy after you get home and be sure to brush your teeth before you go to bed.
The main purpose of Halloween is for kids to have a great time. Nothing ruins a great time like an injury accident. Halloween is a great time to educate children about common sense safety and stranger danger. Whether you are a driver or pedestrian, adult or child, be careful out there on Halloween evening. Have a wonderful time.
Mark M. Bello is a 45-year veteran civil justice trial lawyer. Post retirement, Mark writes legal thrillers and social justice/safety children’s picture books and hosts the the legal themed podcast Justice Counts.
His Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series features important “ripped from the headlines” social justice and political issues experienced in real time by real citizens all over this country. When Mark is not writing legal thrillers and children’s books, he writes articles for www.leantotheleft.net political online newspaper, and www.legalexaminer.com online safety/legal newspaper. For more information about Mark and his books, please visit www.markmbello.com.