Tips for a Happy and Safe Halloween

Halloween is one of the best holidays on the calendar. You get to disguise yourself in a really cool costume. You get to eat all sorts of sweets day and night. Kids get free candy, and both kids and adults can go to parties and haunted attractions. 

The following Halloween safety tips from the Madison Ambulance Association are not to scare you from letting your little devils go trick or treating. They are listed because we want this "fangtastic" holiday to be memorable for good reasons. 

Halloween Tips for Children

1.) Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has
reflective tape on their costume and bags to make them more visible to cars.
2.) Young children should trick or treat with an adult.
3.) Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating
them.
4.) Use non-toxic face paint and always test make-up in a small area
first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent skin and eye irritation.
5.) Wear well-fitting masks, costumes and shoes to avoid blocked
vision, trips and falls.
6.) Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless
you know the cook well.
7.) Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult. Otherwise, stay
outside.
8.) Cross the street safely at corners, walk on sidewalks or paths.
9.) Stop and look both ways when crossing driveways.
10.) Slow down and stay alert.


Halloween Tips for Drivers

1.) Slow down!!!!!
2.) Be especially alert.
3.) Slowly and carefully exit and enter driveways.
4.) Reduce any and ALL distractions inside your car.
5.) Drive with your full headlights on so you can spot children.

Halloween Tips for Adults

1.) Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren't going with
them. Let them know that they are to check in with you every hour, by phone or by stopping back at home.
2.) Help your young child pick out or make a costume that will be safe.
Make sure that it's fireproof or treated with fire retardant. If they are
wearing a mask of any kind, make sure that the eye holes are large enough
for good peripheral vision.
3.) Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as
parties, school or mall functions. If they are going to be at a friend's
home, get the phone number and make sure that you've met the parents.
4.) Kids will be kids. Explain to kids of all ages the difference
between tricks and vandalism.
5.) Serve your kids a filling meal before trick or treating and they
won't be as tempted to eat any candy before they bring it home for you to
check.
6.) Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe,
butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough
to not cause injury if fallen on.
7.) Teach your kids about not getting into stranger's cars or talking to
strangers, no matter what the person says to them. Tell them what to do
should this happen, to scream as loud as they can to draw attention and to
run away as fast as they can to someplace safe.
8.) Be sure to show your children know how to cross a street properly.
They should always look both ways before crossing the street and should only cross at corners or crosswalks.

The following tips are courtesy of the Madison Police Department:

Halloween Tips for Homeowners: 

1.) Keep your home well lit on Halloween and “Mischief Night”.  This will help the trick or treaters to be able to see where they are going and also help to deter vandalism.

2.) Make sure the area that the kids are going to be walking is clear of any debris so they do not trip when walking up to your house.

Tips from AT&T, How To Use Your Phone For a Safer Halloween

1.) Make sure wireless phones are fully charged.

2.) Pre-program contact information of parents, neighbors and emergency services into your and your child's speed dial, and be sure you know how to access these numbers with ease.

3.) Establish boundaries - Families should have in place a familiarized route for children to follow while out on the town. Mobile navigation tools like AT&T Navigator can assist parents and kids in creating routes and goblins on the go can reference maps throughout the evening. Similarly, AT&T's FamilyMap Viewer allows parents to easily and immediately locate a family member's whereabouts from their mobile phone or PC so they can keep a close watch. Or consider a small tracking device that can easily slip into your child's candy bag like the Garmin GTU 10 and follow them via PC or mobile phone.

4.) Set up periodic alarms with Halloween-themed tones as a reminder for trick-or-treaters to text or call home between candy collecting stops.

5.) Don't miss a thing! Phones also come with photo, video and audio recorders, allowing spur-of-the-moment happenings to be captured and shared among friends and family in real time. AT&T's Video Share allows you to see live video on your handset while a voice call is taking place.