Halloween is about a month away and I know my children are getting excited. They love trick or treating even the teenager and would go off into the night right now if I let them. However, there are some rules we need to put in place before they start their Halloween adventure. These are good practices to keep both your family and your home safe. Here are some Halloween safety tips from my family to yours.
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Pumpkin Safety Tips
I love pumpkins. My house is covered in them. They are some of my favorite Halloween decorations. However, they can often create dangerous situations if not handled correctly.
- Use appropriate tools for carving your pumpkin. I’ve seen the pumpkin carving tool kits in practically every store you can name. I think Dollar Tree may even carry them for the budget conscious carver. Using the right tools not only helps get the job done but it’s much safer than using the butcher knife from your kitchen.
- We live in Florida, it’s HOT so pumpkins start to rot and mold after a few days. GROSS. Instead of getting a real pumpkin Now, wait until a couple of days before Halloween especially if you will be carving it. If you must have a pumpkin RIGHT now. Hobby Lobby, Michaels and several other stores sell the fake kind you can carve! These won’t rot and stink.
- With children coming and going, candles may not be a good option. Instead try flameless candles or tea lights. You can pretty much find these anywhere including the Dollar Tree. The kids would probably love this color changing pumpkin strobe light instead.
Costume Safety Tips
Costumes are the MOST important part of Halloween. Here are a few ways to make them safe.
- Do you remember the old school plastic Halloween masks? We couldn’t see a thing. Why did our parents let us wear them and how did we not hurt ourselves? Thankfully today’s masks are made better and have better holes for vision and breathing. Your child should be able to see well out of it and not trip over anything while walking with the mask on. Better yet, skip the masks and get some face paint and do makeup instead.
- Since you’ll be going out at night make sure your child can be seen by motorist by putting reflective tape on their costume or bag or have them wear glow stick jewelry.
- Check the length of your child’s costume to make sure it doesn’t drag the ground and they won’t trip over it when running from house to house.
- Speaking of running, make sure your child has on good comfortable shoes that they can walk in that won’t hurt their feet. Skip the plastic princess heels and get Cinderella some sparkly tennis shoes instead.
- Make sure your child’s costume is weather appropriate. We live in Florida so Halloween is most likely going to be warm if not HOT. Light costumes with short sleeves work best. Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated and cool and watch for signs of overheating. Maybe even bring a little portable fan.
Trick or Treating Safety
- Is possible stay on sidewalks. If there are no sidewalks stay to the side of the road, don’t walk in the middle of the street. Also be sure to cross the street at crosswalks and don’t run out between parked cars. Don’t forget to look both ways before crossing the street.
- Make sure your child is being supervised by an adult while trick or treating. Never let them go alone.
- It’s dark outside and a lot of places in our area don’t have streetlights. It’s best to bring a small flashlight so you can see where you are walking.
- Check your child’s candy before they eat it. Throw away anything that looks old or is unwrapped.
One last word safety tip for drivers. Please drive MUCH slower than normal through neighborhoods on Halloween night and watch for children in the street and running out between parked cars.
Here’s to a safe and happy Halloween for everyone! Have fun out there!
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