5 Simple Tips for a safe Halloween

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Halloween should be fun, exciting, scary and silly, but it also can be dangerous and deadly. Everyone wants to have a safe and happy Halloween for themselves and their children. You can follow the 5 Simple tips To Keep Kids Safe This Halloween:

Driving: Make sure trick-or-treaters cross streets only at corners. Never permit crossing between parked cars or mid-block. This is extremely dangerous and is a leading cause of pedestrian accidents. Watch for small children darting across streets and running through neighborhoods. In their excitement they forget about looking both ways when crossing a street, which means that drivers need to be extra vigilant.

Costumes: Costumes should be made of light-colored, flame-retardant materials. Add reflective tape to costumes. Every child wants a fun and “cool” costume to trick-or-treat in, but parents need to think about safety when they give the OK for a costume. Will motorists be able to see the child, does it restrict a child’s vision or movement and does it include pieces that hang down or drag behind a child, which could get caught in something?

Candy: Treating your kids to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them.Everyone has heard the warning over and over: never offer or accept candy that isn’t factory wrapped. And don’t offer trick-or-treaters apples; the kids want candy and no one wants to check an apple for razor blades.

Fire: If you set jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, make sure that they are far enough out of the way so that kids costumes won’t accidentally be set on fire.It’s fun to put a candle in a carved pumpkin, but not worth the risk of having an open flame around costumes that may or may not be flame resistant. And for safety, trick-or-treaters should carry flashlights, not candles, when walking the streets.

Pets: Halloween can be spooky for small children, so imagine how scary it can be for pets that don’t understand why everyone is dressed up funny? Keep pets inside so they don’t bite any little trick-or-treaters, or end up being used in a prank. For more Halloween advice visit the Phoenix Fire Department’s Web site, www.Phoenix.gob/FIRE.