43rd Ward Office Offers Halloween Safety Tips

CHICAGO — Little ghouls, princesses, monsters and others celebrating Halloween will be heading out to school parties, events and neighborhood trick-or-treating sessions on Oct. 31. But while it's a fun, exciting day for kids, Halloween can be a stressful time for parents, who are tasked with worrying about safe costumes, stranger danger, candy overdoses and traffic.

In a community alert, Ald. Michele Smith offered the following Halloween safety guidelines:

• Costumes: A safe costume should be a priority.
• Choose garb that is light colored and easily visible.
• When using dark colors, put reflective tape in several parts of the costumes -across the back, front and sides to ensure visibility in all directions.
• Avoid masks-they restrict vision - substitute with face paint
• Company: Young children should be accompanied by an adult. If you can’t accompany your children, make sure they go trick-or-treating with an adult or responsible young adult you know well.
• It’s always safer to go with a group of family and/or friends.
• Location: Visit homes in your neighborhood and trick-or-treat at familiar places
• Never enter a home for a treat... stay on the porch or sidewalk.
• Warn children never to approach cars or accept treats from cars.
• Timing: Confine trick-or-treating to daylight hours. If you can only take your child in the evening, limit your visits to homes with porch or outside lighting.
• Treats: Allow your child to accept only wrapped treats...throw away fresh fruit, unwrapped candies, open candies or anything that looks suspicious.
• Consider small toys, non-toxic bubbles or sugar-free items as treats
• Remember, some children have dietary restrictions.
• Walk, don't run! Wait at the curb and look both ways, cross at the corner...do not cut in between parked cars!
• Obey all traffic lights!
• When driving on Halloween use extra caution - be alert for kids on the street.

Information courtesy of 43rd Ward office.

Top photo by Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images