It’s nearly that time of the year again for the annual quid-pro-quo tradition of handing out candy to children under threat of mischief. While many of you probably have Halloween safety down to an art, some of the finer points bear repeating. While you should always check your children’s candy for tampering before allowing them to gorge themselves into a chocolate coma, there are actually no reported cases in history of some madman tampering with stranger’s candy on Halloween. Nearly all of the frightening stories spread during the ‘80s and ‘90s regarding this threat have since been debunked as fabrications and unverified urban legends. So, while it is still important to go through your child’s candy bag and discard anything that isn’t commercially wrapped and untampered with - unless it’s from a close family friend you trust completely – far and away the most important safety tips surround road safety.
Children are more than twice as likely to be hit and killed by a car on Halloween than on any other day of the year, and most of these accidents will involve alcohol. There are many reasons for this including the number of adult parties serving alcohol and the subsequent vehicular irresponsibility, the excitement of trick-or-treaters who tend to dart into the roads or move in other unpredictable ways, and most parents don’t send their children out of the house with either flashlights or reflective tape, making them difficult for drivers to spot. For adult drivers this means using an overabundance of caution:
Drive slowly and vigilantly
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Do NOT text and drive
Make sure your headlights are turned on earlier in the day
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Do NOT drink and drive – use ride services like Uber if you have been drinking
There are also several measures to teach your child to ensure their safety during this enjoyable but potentially dangerous holiday.
Make sure to arm your children and their friends with flashlights, glow sticks, and reflective tape not only on their costumes, but also their treat bags.
Teach your children to keep their flashlights pointed down so as not to accidentally blind oncoming drivers.
If possible, make sure your child’s Halloween costume is a light color, and ensure that any masks fit well and don’t obstruct their vision. It’s also important to ensure their costumes are not so long or cumbersome as to trip them.
When possible, walk on the sidewalks. If you must walk in the roadway, walk in the left lane as far left as possible, so you can see oncoming vehicles. This is a good rule of thumb for the other 364 days a year as well.
When crossing the street always look both ways twice and make sure to only cross at crosswalks. One of the most dangerous things you can do is to cross the street between two parked cars.
It’s always good practice, on Halloween as well as every other day of the year to make eye-contact with drivers before crossing in front of their vehicle. You can’t trust that every driver is going to be as alert and undistracted as they should.
When accompanying children trick-or-treating, resist the temptation to scroll through your smart phone for texting, social media etc. Not keeping your eyes glued to your children and the roadway can have fatal consequences.
As a rule of thumb, most experts recommend chaperoning all children under the age of 12. Personally, I believe it should be 13, but if you feel your child is mature enough to trick-or-treat without adult supervision, it is best to ensure they do it with a group of friends. Also, if they have a smart phone, ensure that it is fully charged, their GPS is turned on and the family has location sharing apps installed. “Life360” and “Find Friends” available on the iPhone app store are good options for keeping track of your family. In the event your child is old enough to trick-or-treat unsupervised, but doesn’t have a smart phone, you can buy GPS trackers either on Amazon or at Best Buy. Shockingly, 12% of children younger than 6 years old are allowed to trick-or-treat alone.
While these are the most important safety rules, don’t forget about checking you children’s candy if they have any allergies. I would also recommend restricting any teenage drivers’ privileges on Halloween Night. If your teenagers need to go somewhere, it would be much safer for a responsible adult to drop them off and pick them up. If you follow these pieces of advice, the chance of a serious accident happening will be vastly diminished. Please be safe out there, and Happy Halloween!
Laura Robinson
McGinnis Woods Country Day School