by Amy Ethridge, Trident Area SAFE KIDS Coalition

Witches...ghosts...goblins...and monsters are out and children everywhere are busy getting their costumes ready for Halloween! Before your little ghosts and goblins make their rounds through the neighborhood, take a few moments to review safety rules.

While Halloween is an exciting time for children, it could be one of the most dangerous nights of the year. It is important for parents and caregivers to not only outfit children in safe costumes, but to review important safety tips with children before they go out trick-or-treating.

Pedestrian injuries, burns and falls are the most common types of injuries on Halloween. To help make sure your child's Halloween is safe, the Trident Area SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends the following safety tips:

• Accompany small children on their trick-or-treat rounds.
• Attach the name, address and phone number (including area code) of children younger than 12 to their clothes, but not in a very visible place. The inside label is a good place.
• Teach your child his or her phone number. Make sure your child has change for a phone call in case they have a problem away from home.
• Instruct children never to enter a home or an apartment building unless accompanied by an adult.
• Instruct children to travel only in familiar areas and along a pre-established route.
• Set a time for children to return home.
• Allow trick-or-treating visits only to homes where porch or outside lights are on.
• Remove breakable items or obstacles such as tools, ladders, and toys from your steps, lawn and porch. Keep jack-o-lanterns lit with candles away from landings or doorsteps where costumes might brush against the flame.
• Tell children to bring their treats home before eating them. Parents should check treats to ensure that items have not been tampered with and are safely sealed. Be careful with fruit. Inspect the surface closely for punctures or holes and cut it open before allowing a child to eat it.

Falls

On Halloween night, cumbersome costumes and masks may make it difficult for children to walk in dark neighborhoods. The following tips can help prevent fall-related injuries:

• Apply face paint or cosmetics directly to the face. It is safer than a loose-fitting masks that can obstruct a child's vision. If a mask is worn, be certain it fits securely. Cut the eye holes large enough for full vision.
• Give trick-or-treaters flashlights.
• Make costumes short enough to avoid tripping.
• Secure hats so they will not slip over children's eyes.
• Dress children in shoes that fit. Adult shoes are not safe for trick-or-treaters. The larger size makes it easier for them to trip and fall.
• Allow children to carry only flexible knives, swords or other props. Remember, anything they carry could injure them if they fall.
• Teach children not to cut across yards. Lawn ornaments and clotheslines are hidden hazards in the dark. Tell your children to stay on sidewalks at all times.

Pedestrian Injuries

• During the excitement of trick-or-treating, children often scurry to visit as many houses as possible, often dashing from between parked cars and out into on-coming traffic. Darting out into the street accounts for the majority of pedestrian fatalities among children younger than 14. The Trident Area SAFE KIDS Coalition offers the following important tips:

Visibility

• Decorate costumes, bags and sacks with retro-reflective tape and stickers.
• Use costumes that are light or bright to make children more visible at night.

Traffic

• Tell children to walk, not run, while trick-or-treating
• \Remind children to stop at all street corners.
• Tell them to cross the street only at intersections and crosswalks
• Teach them to look left, right and left again before crossing the street.
• Tell them to never dart out from between parked cars.
• Never let children younger than 12 go trick-or-treating or cross the street alone without the supervision of an adult or older sibling.

Motorists

• Slow down in residential neighborhoods.
• Obey all traffic signs and signals.
• Watch for children walking in the street or on medians and curbs.
• Enter and exit driveways and alleyways carefully.
• Teach children to exit and enter the car on the curb side, away from traffic.

Burns

Fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children. When choosing a child's costume, the Trident Area SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends the following:

• Look for “flame resistance” labels on costumes, masks, beards and wigs.
• Use fire resistant materials when making costumes.
• Avoid costumes made of flimsy material and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts. These are more likely to come in contact with an exposed flame, such as a candle, than tighter fitting costumes.
• Keep candles, pumpkins with candles, matches and lighters out of children's reach.

For more information, call 792-5327.