Safety Tips for Halloween and Giveaway
Halloween is a week away and kids all over the country are anxiously anticipating dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating! While we as parents want our kids to have fun on Halloween, we also want to make sure they are safe!
Child pedestrian safety expert Moira Donahue with SafeKids USA encourages parents to remind their little ones to be safe when out trick-or-treating.
Statistics show that Halloween is one of the most dangerous days of the year for kids when it comes to walking safely. Consider the following:
– It’s getting darker earlier in the day and children are likely to be trick-or-treating when it’s harder for drivers to see them.
– Children are excited on this night and may be less cautious and move in unpredictable ways.
– Masks may restrict a child’s vision and ill-fitting shoes may make them more prone to trips and falls.
Safety experts from SafeKids and FedEx have teamed up to develop safety tips for parents and drivers.
Keeping Kids Safe on Halloween
Halloween is an exciting holiday for children, but they can be vulnerable to injury on this night. To ensure trick-or-treaters stay safe, SafeKids recommends that children:
– Always trick-or-treat with an adult until age 10
– Only trick-or-treat in familiar areas that are well lit
– Cross streets at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks
– Look left, right and left again when crossing; always walk, don’t run, when crossing streets
– Make eye contact with drivers and watch for cars that are turning or backing up
– Walk on sidewalks or pats; if there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic a to the left as possible
– Never dart out into the street or cross in between parked cars
– Wear light-colored, flame-retardant costumes decorated with retro-reflective tape or stickers.
– Wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes to prevent trips and falls.
– Carry a flashlight or glow stick to increase visibility to drivers.
– Wear face paint and makeup; a mask can restrict a child’s vision.
Driving Safely on Halloween
Drivers need to do their part to keep trick-or-treaters safe from harm. FedEx reminds motorists to be extra careful this Halloween and recommends that drivers do the following:
– Be especially alert in residential neighborhoods.
– Drive more slowly and anticipate heavy pedestrian traffic on and near the road.
– Be sure to drive with your full headlights on so you can spot children from greater distances.
– Take extra time to actively look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.
– Remember that costumes can limit children’s visibility and they may not be able to see your vehicle.
– Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
– Remember that children are excited on this night and may move in unpredictable ways.
– Remember that popular trick-or-treating hours are during the typical rush-hour period, between 5:30-9:30 p.m.
– Reduce any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and pedestrians.
Have a Happy Halloween, but remember, let’s keep this holiday as safe for our children as we possibly can!
GIVEAWAY
4 lucky readers will win 3 Halloween goody bags each, including:
– Reflective trick-or-treat bag
– Blinky light
– Reflector tag (can attach to zippers, belt loops, gym bags, lunch boxes, backpacks, etc.)
– Reflective shoe laces
– Reflective wristband
– Safety tip sheet
WIN IT!!! (MANDATORY ENTRY)
– Tell me in a comment how you try to make Halloween as safe as possible for your children.
EXTRA ENTRIES:
– Vote for The Mommy-Files on Top Mommy Blogs (simply click on the button on the sidebar) – 1 ENTRY
– Follow The Mommy-Files on Twitter – 1 ENTRY
– Tweet about the giveaway – 1 ENTRY DAILY
– Become a Fan of The Mommy-Files on Facebook – 1 ENTRY
– Follow me through Google Connect (new on the right side of the blog) – 1 ENTRY
– Subscribe to my blog – 1 ENTRY
– Add my Mommy-Files button to your blog and include the URL – 1 ENTRY
– Comment on any Non-Giveaway post on The Mommy-Files – 1 ENTRY per post comment (no limit)
– Blog about this giveaway and include the URL – 5 ENTRIES
RULES:
– Contest will close at 11:59 p.m. PST on Monday, October 25th, 2010! Any entries after this time will be deleted!
– Contest open to U.S. residents only.
I received samples from SafeKids and FedEx to facilitate this review. The giveaway was sponsored by SafeKids and FedEx. All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.
We always go Trick or Treating in a large group, which includes lots of adults. All of the kids wear those glow sticks and the parents all carry flashlights.
We only go to neighbors that we know, and I take a flashlight and the kids carry glow sticks.
I keep my kids by me while trick or treating at all times to keep them safe
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I try to keep their costumes as bright as possible. I also keep them next to me and I walk on the outside of the sidewalk, keeping them away from the streets.
Only go to houses where we know the people
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I always put glow sticks on my kids and they are always with an adult.
We always make sure they stay close by, even the older ones; examine all their candy before opening, and never let them eat opened/baked goods.
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we goto neighborhoods we know and he has to hold a hand
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My kids carry glow sticks and I walk along with them. Hubby follows us around in the car as we go from street to street.
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we bought a blinking light to attach to my little boy this year
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I stay within a couple of feet of them!
Thank you for focusing on the REAL danger of Halloween, and not the overblown, more than highly unlikely scenarios of drugged candy and evil neighbors kidnapping my kids.
We first do a Trunk or Treat with our church and then take the kids treat or tricking with our neighbors 🙂
reflective clothing, flashlight and adult walks with kids
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We got out before it is dark, no wearing black. We use flash lights, I stay within feet of her. NO eating of any candy until I have checked it very carefully.
SInce my toddler is a handful and likes to run off, I like to go with at least one other adult. We also always go through his candy before he gets to it so we can get rid of any opened or questionable candy as well as anything that is a choking hazard.
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My son is only three so rather then trick or treating – cept in our own two building condo complex – we will go to a church sponsored event and to peter pan pizza – they are having a spooktackular extravaganza – last year we went trick or treating at the mall – parents and kids just went from shop to shop and kiosk and dressed up employees handed out candy – but we switched bases no such luck here
We only trick or treat in a 4 block area…so we know most of the people in our little neighborhood.
Our town has a free hot dog roast between 6 & 7pm and trick or treating is over at 8.
Candy is checked and any open pieces are dumped, also bubble gum.
Mommy gets any Milk Duds. The End. lol
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I make it safer by walking with them every step of the way.
We stay with them and use blinky lights and try to wear white
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For us, the danger of Halloween is in the candy. My kids have food allergies so we let them trade all of the candy they bring home for a homemade treat. They will also be wearing their blinky light up shoes.
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We all go trick or treating in large groups suelee1998@ gmail.com
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we stay together,flashlights,check candy before eating
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I only bring our son trick or treating to people’s houses that we know…Never will I bring him to a stranger’s home.
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We usually take our kids to a harvest festival with trunk or treating at our church.
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I go wit them and we stay in our nieghborhood
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We stay with our little ones.