Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween should be an exciting time of year for children and their parents, but too often the celebration devolves into tragedy. This season, make safety the top priority for your family.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has compiled a list of Halloween best practices. Follow these tips to keep your family safe:

• Always accompany young children when trick-or-treating.
• Watch for motorists and cross alleys carefully.
• Only visit houses that are well-lit when trick-or-treating.
• Use reflective tape or other light-up devices to increase your child’s nighttime visibility, especially when wearing dark costumes.
• Do not let children eat strangers’ homemade treats.
• Avoid candles and open flames, especially when in costume.
• Keep costume accessories soft and flexible (for example, swords or knives).
• Examine your children’s treats for choking hazards or tampering before they eat.
• Remove any costumer makeup before bed to avoid skin and eye irritation.
• Make sure costumes and accessories do not impair visibility or inhibit movement.

Have a Healthy Halloween

Nutrition can be easily overlooked during a holiday best known for its abundance of candy and sugary treats. That is a shame, since about 1 in 5 school-aged children are obese, according to the CDC. This Halloween, consider being the one house on the block that offers healthy trick-or-treat alternatives.

Here are some store-bought snacks that can double as trick-or-treat offerings:

• Dried fruit
• Sugar-free gum
• Pretzels
• Juice boxes
• Snack crackers
• Apples
• Fruit bars
• Cheese sticks