Halloween Safety Tips

Fall festivities like Halloween are fun activities for kids, who dress up in costumes, enjoy parties, and sweet treats. With all the fall festivities, there are many opportunities to hand out healthy snacks, increase physical activities, and practice safety.

Check out these tips to help make the celebrations fun and safe for trick-or-treaters and party guests.

Walk Safely

1.            Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and following the painted crosswalks.

2.            Always look left, right and left again when crossing a street and keep looking as you are crossing.

3.            Put away the electronics while walking to avoid an accident. Never run across the street.

4.            Teach children to make eye contact with drivers first before walking in front of them.

5.            Always walk on sidewalks or cleared paths. If there isn’t a side walk, head facing traffic as far to the left as possible.  Children should walk on routes that has the fewest street crossings.

6.            Be on the lookout for vehicles that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never run out into the street or cross between parked cars.

Trick or Treat With an Adult

1.            Children younger than 12 should not be alone at night without adult supervision. If kids are mature enough to be out without supervision, they should stick to familiar areas that are well lit and trick-or-treat in groups.

Keep Costumes Safe

1.            A fun way to practice safety is to decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape.

2.            Choose face paint and makeup whenever possible instead of masks, which can disturb a child’s vision.

3.            To help kids and drivers see, have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights.

4.            When selecting a costume, check the length to ensure it won’t cause the child to trip and fall.

Drive Extra Safely on Halloween

1.            Slow down and be very alert in residential neighborhoods. Kids are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.

2.            Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.

3.            Enter and exit driveways slowly and carefully.

4.            Remove any distractions inside your car so you can focus on the road and your surroundings.

5.            Drive slowly, anticipate heavy pedestrian traffic and turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from further distances.

6.            Popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. so be especially alert for kids during these hours.

For more Halloween safety tips, visit CDC.gov. Happy Halloween!