Article contributions made by Mercy Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC tips
When trick or treating or participating in other Halloween activities with people outside your household, wear a mask. You can make it fun by making your mask part of your costume, but when it comes to slowing the spread of COVID-19, a costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask. Also, do not wear a costume mask over a cloth mask. It can make breathing more difficult.
Make trick-or-treating safer
– Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters.
– Give out treats outdoors, if possible.
– Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take.
– Wash hands before handling treats.
– Wear a mask.
Stay at least 6 feet away from others who do not live with you
– Indoors and outdoors, you are more likely to get or spread COVID-19 when you are in close contact with others for a long time.
Don’t want to trick-or-treat? Other ideas
– Hide Halloween treats in and around your house. Hold a Halloween treat hunt with household members.
– Hold an outdoor costume parade or contest so everyone can show off their costumes.
– Host an outdoor Halloween movie night with friends or neighbors or an indoor movie night with your household members.
– Go on an outdoor Halloween-themed scavenger hunt.
– Visit a pumpkin patch or orchard. Remember to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently, especially after touching frequently touched surfaces, pumpkins, or apples.
– Go to a one-way, walk-through haunted forest or corn maze.
– Carve pumpkins with members of your household or outside with neighbors or friends.
– Walk from house to house, admiring Halloween decorations at a distance.
Mercy Health tips
Halloween is a fun time for kids (and adults who are still kids at heart), but it can be stressful for adults.
“As Halloween approaches, many young people will be dressing up in their favorite costumes and collecting candy. Please talk with your kids about Halloween safety before they set out. Children should not trick-or-treat far from home and especially not alone. They should trick-or-treat in groups and stay together,” Erin Fries, MD, Mercy Health – Cincinnati’s Chief Clinical Officer, said.
“Children are excited on Halloween, which may lead to unsafe actions,” she adds. “Make sure a responsible adult stays with your child while they are out and about.”
Mercy Health has tips for parents to share with their trick-or-treaters so that Halloween can be all about the treats without any nasty tricks.
Costume Safety
Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors.
Choose face paint and makeup whenever possible instead of masks, which can obstruct a child’s vision.
Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers.
When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls.
Walking Safety
Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross.
Put electronic devices down, keep heads up and walk, don’t run, across the street.
Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.
Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.
Driver Safety Tips
Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.
Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
Get rid of any distractions – like your phone – in your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
Turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances.
According to the National Safety Council: 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. The NSC advises motorists to watch for children walking on the roadway and curbs; enter and exit driveways carefully; watch for children wearing dark clothing; and discourage inexperienced drivers from driving on Halloween.
For more information and safety tips, please go to this NSC site: here.