Hidden Halloween Dangers You Should Know About

Halloween is supposed to be a spooky experience. Unfortunately, this scary holiday can turn into a real-life nightmare for some families. This year, make sure to take the right steps to keep your kids safe and out of the ER. Avoid these surprising Halloween hazards.

Cars — The Number One Danger

Forget about razor blades hidden in apples — as always, cars are a much more realistic hazard. Kids are more than twice as likely to be killed in a car accident on Halloween than on any other night of the year! Children who are out Trick or Treating should always be supervised by responsible adults for many reasons, of course. But even under your watchful eye, things can get really scary if you walk on the road in the dark. Trick or Treating encourages crossing the road all the time.

What can you do to keep everyone safe? Make sure your costumes are clearly visible to drivers by applying reflective tape or wearing those yellow reflective waistcoats, and don't let the excitement of the night become an excuse to ignore road safety rules. For this reason, you should think more than twice before allowing teenagers to take younger children out Trick or Treating.

You can also use Halloween as a great reason to discuss staying safe while participating in traffic as a pedestrian. Only cross the road where and when it's allowed, and still make sure there are no oncoming cars.

Halloween Fire Hazards

Those jack-o-lanterns are creepy and cute, and an essential part of the Halloween atmosphere for most families. Candles actually pose less of a fire risk than most people believe, if a few simple rules are followed. Tea lights are the least dangerous candles around, while long candle sticks can fall over easily and should be avoided unless you are constantly watching them. (And you probably won't be.)

By placing tea lights on a flat, stable surface without flammable items anywhere near, you have already minimized the risk of fire. The next step is to make sure your jack-o-lanterns are not in a place where people, including kids who may come to Trick or Treat at your house, can knock them over. Having candles on your porch is generally a bad idea for that reason.

Flammable Halloween costumes

Flammable Halloween costumes represent the other major fire hazard on this spooky night. Resist the temptation to buy your kids one of those 100 percent polyester costumes (usually made in China), even though they can be really cute. Find or sew costumes made from cotton to keep your kids and yourself safe. Also avoid costumes in which large bits of fabric flying about. There is a good chance your kids will encounter homes that are less aware about preventing fires than you are with candles on their porch.

Sugar Overdose, Pedophiles, Ghost Costumes And Other Hazards 

It's really sad — many hospitals offer X-rays for Halloween candy, and there are plenty of legends going around relating to the dangers of treats given to kids by total strangers on Halloween. Thankfully, the risk of poisoned candy is close to zero. Two kids died of poisoned Halloween treats, and family members were the perpetrators in both cases. If you are so afraid of candy obtained from Trick or Treating, your kids should obviously give the whole tradition a miss.

Sugar overdose

There are more real risks related to Halloween candy, though. Overdosing on sugar and getting an upset stomach or even food poisoning is a real risk. Feeding your kids a really nice but healthy meal before you go out Trick or Treating is the simplest strategy to prevent eating excessive amounts of candy on that first night. Later on, discuss how much candy your kids can eat each day with your kids.

Allergies are another risk. On Halloween night, your child is likely to get so much candy — of so many different kinds — that it would be a real problem if he or she had a severe allergic reaction to one of them. At the ER, they'd have a real tough time figuring out exactly what your child is allergic to.

For younger kids, many sweet treats also pose a choking hazard. Boiled candy is notorious when it comes to choking danger, but it is certainly not the only type of treat that can make a toddler choke. Make sure you know the Heimlich maneuver. Every parent should know how to perform this simple but life-saving anti-choking measure.

Pedophiles

Pedophiles and kidnapping are yet another fear most parents have somewhere in their minds on Halloween night. Perhaps some creep will persuade your child to come into their home during a Trick or Treat session? Or maybe a stranger will offer your child a car ride, and kidnap them?

First off, stranger kidnappings are very rare. Very, very rare. The same thing goes for pedophiles who just grab a kid the first time they see her — the vast majority of pedophiles goes through a long grooming process, and many of them are related to their victims.

Now that's out the way, let one thing be clear: parents can eliminate any kidnapping fears by going with their children (and additionally, making sure they can defend themselves and their kids, as well as sending their kids on a self-defense course).

Ghost Costumes

Ghost costumes may be among the most popular Halloween outfits of all times, but be careful — the cute spooky dress may be dangerous! Ghost costumes are often made out of old sheets, and they tend to drag on the floor. They wouldn't make it past health and safety rules in the workplace, and your child too can trip up, get caught in bushes or fall down the stairs wearing one of these.

The same rules apply to other costumes that can drag, like capes, or high heels that are part of a costume. Check any Halloween for choking hazards, fire risk, and the risk of falling before to buy.

Dangerous Lawns

Are you expecting Trick or Treaters? Decorating your house and your porch is great, but make sure your lawn is free of obstacles that kids (perhaps in the just mentioned dragging ghost costumes) can trip up on, and that your lawn is well-lit so that everybody can see the stuff you have in it. A porch with jack-o-lanterns on it may be dangerous of there is any risk of kids knocking your decorations over and causing a fire.

COVID

With vaccination programs well underway nearly everywhere now, we're all itching to enjoy a taste of normal life again — and of course, Halloween seems like a prime opportunity. COVID is still out there, and we're 100 percent sure you'll see some coronavirus-related Halloween costumes this year, too. If you're planning on enjoying any kind of indoor Halloween party, please do make sure that you're doing it with responsible folks who've already gotten their shots. Even then, make sure that hand washing is a priority.

And remember, Halloween also marks the start of the flu season! Flu and COVID make for a terrible combo, so it's a good idea to consider getting that flu shot ASAP.