Keeping Your Children Safe this Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner. It is a time to dress up as your favorite character, food item, or pop culture reference and have a great time with friends and family. And when it comes to trick or treating, it is imperative to make sure that your children are safe during this time. Approximately, only 33% of parents go over safety tips with their children. Parents should check all treats for tampering, as well treats that need to be age appropriate; there are quite a bit of candies that can be chocking hazards. Also, check out the ingredients of all candies and treats if your child has a major allergy—which is why it’s important that your children do not open anything before an inspection.

When it comes to the choosing of costumes for yourself and your children, look at the materials your costume is made of. You want to stay away from flammable materials, and depending on the weather, make sure your costume is able to keep you warm and comfortable throughout the night. When it comes to costumes with props on the larger side [like wings] be aware of the surrounding landscape so nothing gets knocked over and/or so other children will not be hit. Another aspect of costumes parents must be conscious about are masks. If your child wants to wear a mask or some sort of face covering come up with an agreement that they should not wear the mask when walking around outside; this could jeopardize your child’s peripheral and put them in greater danger.

Safety Tips When Not Joining Your Children:

Agree on a time for your children to come back home
Don’t open any treats before you arrive home
Make sure your children only go to homes with their lights on

Statistics show that twice as many children are hit during Halloween than any day of the year. Approx. only 18% of parents gear their children with some type of visibility.

Wear reflective tape
Glow-sticks and/or necklaces that glow
Bring flashlights.

Insurance Safety

If you plan on handing out candy to trick or treaters, make sure your property is safe and ready to go. If anything were to happen, your renters/home owners insurance should cover it, but it is still better to be safe than sorry. Due to the weather outside, the leaves falling, and raining more than usual, make sure your walkway is free from wet leaves. Make sure your pathway to the front door is completely clear of decorations and other hazards that would be easy to trip over. If there are any trees in your front yard, look for fallen branches because they can also be major tripping hazards.

One thing that is really important to know is that missing handrails on your porch steps is the second most common homeowner liability claim. Make sure your handrails are nice and sturdy, and are dry, if it had been raining lately. If you happen to have a dog that likes to run to the door every time the doorbell rings, make sure they’re secure; you would not want them to either escape, or knock down a child.

Have walkways well lit and keep candles away from walkways. Remember, Halloween decorations and porch lights often signify that trick or treaters are welcome to approach your home. Keeping children safe is the biggest concern.

Other Safety Concerns

A major concern that homeowners should know about is related to cooking safety when it comes to Halloween Night. Between the years of 2014 and 2016, the average number of house fires increased; so did an increase in property damage and injuries caused by said fires. These fires mostly occur during 6 and 7 pm, which is the peak time for dinner and trick or treaters ringing your doorbell; this may be the result of multi-tasking of trying to cook and hand out candy at the same time. If that’s the case, then make sure you are staying safe. Perhaps have one person cook and the other to hand out candy—get friends and family to help out.

One last thing that people should know, in regards to Halloween Night, is that crime nearly has a 25% increase. Most people believe that this I’d due to the sense of anonymity because of the use of masks and costumes. The Halloween of 2016, there was a string of robberies and murders that took place. There were 36 lives lost that night. There was one, specifically, that dressed up as Freddy Kruger and murdered five people in San Antonio. Yes. Travelers has a statistic out that crime increases nearly 25% on Halloween. In 2016, 36 people lost their lives across various cities, between party altercations and fast food robberies.

Keeping Your Children Safe this Halloween

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