Local group: safety tips for Halloween safety

Trick-or-treating is great fun for children but it can also be dangerous. Image courtesy of Safe Kids Salt Lake County.

SALT LAKE CITY – Trick-or-treating is great fun for children but it can also be dangerous, according to May Romo with <a href=”http://www.safekids.org/halloween” target=”parent”>Safe Kids of Salt Lake County</a>. She said more child pedestrian deaths occur in the U.S. on Halloween than any other day of the year. 

Romo urged parents to counsel their kids on safety, while still having fun.

“Talk to them about some safety rules that as pedestrians, the kids – on this Halloween night – have to be responsible and to take charge of their being safe,” Romo said.

Children should use a flashlight when trick-or-treating, and they always should cross streets at pedestrian crosswalks or intersections with traffic signals, she added. 

Romo listed other hazards, too. Children suffer increased incidents of burns, falls and choking on Halloween. Lighted jack-o-lanterns and candles can be fire hazards. Over-eating sweets can make kids sick and cause choking. Falls occur due to children tripping over their costumes. 

However, she said, trick-or-treating risk factors go down if an adult is present.

“Children are really exposed to increased risks because more likely they are not with an adult. If possible, we’re asking adults to take the time, walk around with their kids and make sure that they’re safe,” she said.

More information is online at <a href=”http://www.safekids.org/halloween” target=”parent”>www.safekids.org</a>.

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