Get the facts on a safe Halloween for your family.

Ready for Halloween festivities? Cross these 10 safety tips off your checklist.

1. Safety check the costume. The CDC recommends that your child’s costume fits well. It shouldn’t be too long or loose, or it will be a tripping hazard. Masks should be ventilated well with generous eye holes.
2. Ditch the weapons. For optimal safety, don’t let your kids carry weapons as props. If they must, make sure the weapons are clearly fake and flexible. Don’t allow kids to carry wooden replicas; they’re still dangerous.
3. Spot check makeup. Do a spot check before you put face makeup on your child. Some kids are sensitive and may have an allergic reaction to face paint and makeup.
4. Use hair spray in a ventilated area. Make sure you use spray and spray-on colors in a very well-ventilated room or outdoors.
5. Snuff the candles. Avoid open flames on Halloween. Instead of bonfires, candles and luminaries, try decorative LED lighting that does not pose a fire risk.
6. Watch your teens. Even if your teens aren’t trick-or-treating, you need to keep an eye on them. Make sure they’re not engaging in risky behavior like pranking or trespassing. Have a talk about drugs and alcohol.
7. Throw a supervised party. Give your kids and their friends somewhere safe and supervised to hang out. Help put together age-appropriate activities and serve fun, spooky foods and drinks.
8. Avoid traffic. Supervise kids closely while trick-or-treating. Show them how to use crosswalks and stay with them while walking on and crossing streets.
9. Light it up. Give your children flashlights and consider using reflective materials or clip-on lights with costumes.
10. Check the candy. After trick-or-treating is over, go through your kids’ candy and pull out anything unwrapped or homemade. If you have a child with allergies, be especially careful to remove potentially triggering food items.

Lanwood Regional Medical Center wishes you a safe, fun and Happy Halloween!

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