Halloween Safety Tips

Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center reminds you to keep your ghosts & goblins SAFE!

Trick-or-Treating

Everyone loves a good scare on Halloween, but not when it comes to the safety of our little trick-or-treaters!

Fortunately, there are LOTS of easy things families can do to stay safe on the spookiest of holidays:

  • Always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds
  • Caution kids to never enter a home or a car for a treat
  • Inspect treats before eating
  • Look for signs of tampering with treats
  • Never accept homemade items from people you do not know
  • Remove choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candy, and small toys
  • Confirm that treats are not cannabis (marijuana) edibles
  • When in doubt… THROW IT OUT!

Sources: HealthyChildren.Org; Consumer Product Safety Commission; Safe Kids Worldwide

Be Safe, Be Seen!

On average, children (are more than twice as likely) to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year.
Follow these tips when trick-or-treating:

Pedestrians:

  • Carry a flashlight or glow sticks
  • Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks
  • Make Eye Contact with drivers before crossing in front of cars
  • Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to LEFT as possible!

Drivers:

  • Watch for kids crossing/darting mid-street
  • Keep phones down so you’re not distracted
  • Obey all traffic rules
  • Anticipate heavy pedestrian traffic and turn on headlights
  • Take the extra time to look for kids at intersections, and on medians and curbs
  • SLOW DOWN & BE ALERT!

For more information & resources, visit our Pedestrian Safety and Distracted Driving topic pages.

Sources: HealthyChildren.Org; Consumer Product Safety Commission; Safe Kids Worldwide

Costume Safety

All treats (and no tricks) will make for an enjoyable Halloween!
Disguise yourself safely:

  • Plan for bright and reflective costumes
  • Fit shoes, masks, and/or costumes properly to avoid injuries
  • If wearing a mask, ensure proper fit. Masks may limit a child’s ability to see!
  • Toy weapons such as knives and swords should be short, soft, and flexible
  • Ensure costumes are large enough and have room to permit warm clothes under a costume (if temps are low)
  • Look for “flame resistant” on costume labels (wigs and other accessories )
  • Put a nametag with your phone number on your child’s costume

Sources: HealthyChildren.Org; Consumer Product Safety Commission; Safe Kids Worldwide

Be Halloween Safe, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Flier features Sparky the Dog and provides safety tips and information to "help make trick-or-treating safe for your little monsters"

Download – (PDF) | (JPG)

For more family-friendly Fire Safety resources, visit: sparky.org.

Visit our Digital Resource Center to learn more about Halloween Safety — plus, more injury and violence prevention topics year-round!