Halloween Health And Safety Tips For Adults

Halloween-related safety advice is almost exclusively aimed at parents with children to protect... but razor-hiding Halloween candies and other (probably) urban myths aside, it's important that adults keep health and safety in mind, too. How can you enjoy a safe but fun Halloween this year?

Relax And Enjoy Yourself

Are you worried about razor blades hidden in apples, kids throwing up after eating buckets of candy, or jack-o-lanterns burning your house down? Halloween is one of the most fun and memorable holidays for kids, and mom and dad can enjoy this night too! (Hell, you can have all the fun in the world on this spooky holiday even if you don't have any children at all!)

How? Our health and safety tips will keep everyone physically safe, so long as you stick to them. But you should consider your mental health even before you get to that part. If there is any aspect of Halloween that you are particularly worried about or just something you really don't like the thought of, don't make that thing part of your Halloween celebration.

Does the thought of Trick or Treating freak you out? Skip it, and have an indoor Halloween party instead! Do you tremble at the thought of making your kids' costumes yourself? Just buy them, but make sure they are not highly flammable.

Holidays give families a great chance to (re)connect and build memories. Research shows that families who enjoy holidays and special traditions together have stronger bonds. But if you are stressed, Halloween will not be any fun for you or anyone else in your family. So remember to relax and enjoy the holiday together with your kids. Have fun, even if it involves a little more sugar than you would usually be comfortable with.

Keep Germs Away

Many people feel that Halloween really ushers in the fall. That might be true, but Halloween also, unfortunately, marks the start of the flu season. As if COVID wasn't enough, you now have to worry about the flu, too! Trick or Treating offers plenty of opportunities to catch the influenza virus as well as, of course, COVID-19.

(For the record, yes! This is indeed an update to an older article. By now, everyone knows that hand washing is super important, so if we take our COVID precautions seriously, we do reduce our risk of catching the flu, too. Still, you could definitely benefit from a flu shot, which the CDC recommends for nearly everyone aged two and up!)

Oh, by the way, if you're having an indoor Halloween party, you'll want to make sure that everyone's had their COVID shots before you invite them to your home!

Drive Safely

More kids die in car accidents on Halloween night than at any other time of the year. That's one spooky statistic you don't want to become a part of. Parents should always accompany their children when they go out Trick or Treating to stop them from darting back and forth across seemingly safe roads in an effort to collect as many treats as possible. You can stay visible in various ways — flashlights are one option, while a reflective waistcoat is another possibility. You can even dress up as a road worker and make safety look cool! 

If you are going to drive your car on Halloween night, drive more slowly than usual and be on the look-out for Trick or Treaters who forgot to look left and right, and who didn't stick to the appropriate places to cross the road. Perhaps you could also consider simply staying in and having your own Halloween dinner party. There will be plenty of neighborhood kids looking for treats, after all.