Halloween Safety Guide

By: FUN Monster

Halloween is a fun time to dress up in cool costumes and go trick-or-treating, but there are also a few ways that it can be dangerous if you're not careful. By following a few basic safety tips, you can make sure that your Halloween is safe and fun!

Costume Safety

Playing dress-up is always fun, but on Halloween, it's even better. Just make sure to follow these tips so that you don't end up getting hurt because of your costume:

When you pick out your costume, make sure that it's the right size. If you wear a costume that's too big, it might make you trip or fall while you're running from house to house trick-or-treating.
Wear a light-colored costume or add reflective tape so that you're easier to see in the dark. When you're out trick-or-treating on Halloween night, you need to make sure that people driving cars can see you so they don't hit you.
Lots of Halloween costumes can have cool masks to go with them, but when you wear a full mask on your face, it can be hard to see everything around you. Instead of wearing a mask, get some non-toxic face paint or makeup to decorate your face. You'll be able to create a look that's totally unique!
If you need to wear a wig, beard, or mustache with your costume, make sure that it doesn't cover your eyes, nose, or mouth. You need to be able to see clearly and breathe properly while you're wearing your costume.
Wear shoes that fit so you can walk in them safely, even if they don't really go with your costume. Nobody's going to be looking at your feet anyway, and wearing things like giant clown shoes or shoes with high heels can make you fall and hurt yourself.

Trick-or-Treating Safety

Trick-or-treating might be fun, but it also involves walking around on streets in the dark and visiting houses of people you might not know that well. That's why you need to be careful to keep yourself safe on Halloween night.

Always walk from house to house: Don't run.
Carry a glow stick or flashlight to make sure that you can see and that other people can see you.
If you're not a teenager yet, don't go out trick-or-treating without a grown-up. It's even more fun (and safer) when you bring a group of friends with you, too!
Whenever there's a sidewalk, use it: It's a lot safer than walking in the road. If there aren't any sidewalks, walk on the left side of the road, so you're facing traffic. Always cross streets at corners or crosswalks.
Watch for cars that may be turning or backing up; never assume that drivers can see you.
Stick to familiar roads that are well-lit. Avoid houses with no lights on.
Be careful around animals on Halloween. Pets can sometimes get scared of people wearing costumes and react in ways they normally wouldn't.
Never go inside someone's house when you're trick-or-treating.

Safe Treats

You might be eager to dig into all of the treats you've collected right away, but don't do it: Some treats can cause more harm than just cavities.

Always let a grown-up inspect your treats before you eat anything to make sure that they're safe to eat.
If something has a damaged or open wrapper or otherwise doesn't look like it should, throw it away.
Make sure that preschool kids can't get near any treats that could make them choke. Things like small toys or hard candies might be fine for older kids, but for little ones, they can be dangerous.

Emergency Preparedness

Just like any other time when you go out to do something fun, take a moment before you leave to think about what you'll do if something bad happens.

Make a plan for what you'll do if you somehow get lost or separated from your group.
Make sure that you have a basic first aid kit at home in case you get any cuts or scrapes while you're trick-or-treating.

Home Safety

Before and after you go trick-or-treating, you can also help to make sure that your house is safe for kids to visit.

Clear walkways of any obstacles, such as decorations, hoses, or garden tools, that kids could trip over once it's dark out.
Turn on the lights outside so that trick-or-treaters can see that you're ready to give out candy and so they can get to your door safely in the dark.
If you have a dog, lock them up so they can't get to the front door, where they might jump on or bite a trick-or-treater.