Halloween Safety Tips
By: Savanna Davis (7)
Did you know that 23% of fatalities that occur on Halloween are to children between the ages of 5 to 8? Even when children are at the doors for candy, guard your kid(s) by standing with them because you never know. Here are a few ways to ensure your little witches and warlocks stay safe.
Even as middle schoolers, there are ways to keep ourselves safe. According to 7th grader Sophie Malino, “Always stay on the sidewalks and don’t walk in the streets.” She continued to say to be respectful and, “not play ding dong ditch,” when out trick-or-treating. When kids are crossing roads to go to different houses they usually don’t pay attention to the road and are often involved in accidents.
Drivers are recommended to pay attention to the road and make sure they look out for little kids walking on the road. Parents should try to make their kids’ costumes as bright as possible, so they are noticeable to drivers. Kids are also recommended to avoid wearing masks and use such things as face painting, so nothing is blocking the child’s vision.
According to 7th grader James Ochoa, “Kids under 12 shouldn’t trick or treat alone; they should be with a trusted adult.” So make sure you still chaperone your child while going door to door. Stay on the sidewalks; whether you’re a child or an adult make sure you stay on the sidewalk if you can for the safety of yourself and others.
Candy; is a fun treat that almost everyone loves and the one day we can get it free is Halloween, but how do you know that your candy is safe? Here are some things you can do to have a safe trick or treating. Make sure you pay attention to the wrapper concealing the candy; if it looks like it’s been tampered with, throw it away or if you remember the address, report it to local authorities to make sure others after you are safe. Parents should also check the child’s candy even if the wrapper doesn’t look as if it was tampered with; just to make sure there aren’t any substances in it that would be harmful.
Trick or treating is fun by yourself, but think about doing it with others so you can have a safe and fun Halloween. Sure when you get older, you want to start going out and doing stuff on your own, but you never know what can happen when you are out alone with no witnesses. It is recommended to go out in groups, so all of you can stay safe and look out for each other. You can still have fun with friends while staying safe and making sure that none of you make unsafe decisions.
Going door to door is a necessity for trick or treating so you can get your treats, but what about safety if you happen to be going to a door alone? We all know about stranger danger, well while trick or treating don’t forget that. If someone invites you in trying to convince you the candy is in the house; decline and rush to a different house or just go home. Try not to stand too close to the strangers’ door after you knock; this makes it harder for them to snatch you into the house. But, if you want to take a little more precautions, then go to crowded houses that way there are a lot of people around and no one can get away with doing something bad.
Those are a couple of ways to stay safe during Halloween so make sure you try to keep yourself and others safe and have a Happy Halloween.