Halloween can be an exciting time for children, but, with the distraction of candy and costumes, safety rules can easily be forgotten.
As we approach the Halloween season, the IH Healthy Schools team has put together some tips including tips from Food Allergy Canada to keep children safe and healthy during their trick-or-treating adventures.
In this Story…
Five Halloween tips
1. Costumes: Wear light or brightly coloured costumes to be seen easily by drivers in the dark.
- With dark costumes, consider adding reflective tape, or wearing a glo necklace or bracelet.
- Consider the length of the costume to avoid tripping.
- Keep costumes away from open flames and candles.
- Choose face paint instead of a mask, which can restrict vision. Do a patch test to check for sensitivities.
2. Trick-or-treating: Prepare your children with trick-or-treating safety guidelines and make sure younger children are accompanied.
- Plan a route ahead of time, and give a curfew if children are trick or treating without you or an adult.
- According to Canadian injury prevention specialists, many children do not have the skills to cross roads safely until the ages of 9-11 years old so have an adult or responsible older child accompany younger children across the street.
- Guidelines to teach children include:
- Trick or treat only in areas that are well-known to you and you know some of the neighbours.
- Don’t enter people’s homes. Accept treats at the door only.
- Travel in groups for visibility.
- Visit only homes with the porch light on.
- Carry a flashlight or headlamp for added visibility.
- Teach your child to visit houses on one side of the street, rather than criss-crossing.
- Teach your child to look left, right then left again, before stepping off a curb. Never cross in-between parked cars and other obstacles.
- Stay on the sidewalk or a path. Walk towards oncoming traffic is there is no sidewalk or avoid streets without sidewalks altogether.
3. Treat safety: Before letting your children enjoy their treats, first check the candy to make sure packaging is intact and safe.
- Don’t eat candy if the package is already open. If it is, just throw it away.
- Remind your child to not eat candy until they are examined by an adult at home.
- Be mindful small, hard candies can be a choking hazard.
- Don’t accept homemade treats and goodies unless the person who made it is familiar to you.
4. Food allergy considerations from Food Allergy Canada: Hold off on eating treats till they are checked and carry an epi-pen if needed.
- Let neighbours know your child has food allergies.
- Be sure your child is carrying their epi-pen, and let others know where it is in case of an emergency.
- Remind your child not to eat treats until they get home.
- Consider offering non-food treats like stickers and pencils, to trick-or-treaters.
- Remind your child if they are having a reaction to let others know. A mask can cover up skin symptoms!
- Always read ingredient lists and don’t rely solely on “free from” labels on packaging.
- If hosting a party, stick to pre-packed products and avoid “may contain” products. Ask guests about food allergies.
- Use a teal lightbulb on your front porch to show support for kids with food allergies #ShineATealLight
5. Trick-or-treating alternatives. If trick or treating isn’t your choice of fun, there are many other activities such as parties, crafts, haunted houses and more.
- Consider hosting a party for children in your neighbourhood.
- See if your local mall is hosting Halloween celebrations.
- Plan a pumpkin carving contest.
- Create a Halloween treasure hunt in a safe space.
- If local restrictions allow, host a backyard bonfire in a safe space.
- Turn your house into a haunted house for all to enjoy.
- And of course – a classic Halloween activity – watch age-appropriate scary movies!
Halloween safety resources
- Halloween safety – Parachute
- Halloween safety - Canada.ca
- Halloween Safety Information from the Canadian Red Cross - Canadian Red Cross
- Ten Halloween Safety Tips – Canada Safety Council
- 10 ways for your child to stay safe this Halloween - Canadian Red Cross
- Keep your Halloween spooky but safe! | BC Gov News
- Celebrating Halloween 2022 - Food Allergy Canada
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