Halloween safety tips ahead of trickortreating
Oct 31, 2024
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Even with some rain in the forecast for the spookiest night of the year, many young kids and their parents will still be heading out to go trick or treating.
What's scarier than ghosts and goblins? Getting hurt while you're trying to enjoy Halloween.
On a rainy Halloween sure to be filled with scary and delightful frights in Memphis and surrounding Mid-South neighborhoods, it can also be a night with unwanted accidents and injuries.
To help keep your kids safe as they go door-to-door dressed in their costumes, WREG has reached out to Jennifer Taylor Lopez, the manager of Safe Kids Mid-South and injury prevention at Le Bonheur.
"Halloween is the most exciting time of the year for a lot of kids and even adults," Lopez said.
Halloween events happening in the Memphis area
When it comes to costumes, make sure they're the right size to prevent trips and falls, decorate costumes with reflective tape or stickers and make sure kids can see through a Halloween mask.
"So, we definitely want to keep our costumes creative for Halloween. So, we want to make sure that we could use reflective tape," Lopez said. "So, drivers can actually see our children walking the streets at night."
When Halloween activities take you outside the home, have kids carry glowsticks or flashlights, cross the street at corners, put down electronic devices like phones and watch for cars that are turning or backing up.
"We definitely want our families, caregivers to be cautious and we want them to look for the traffic signals," Lopez said. "(When) crossing the crosswalk, look left, right to make sure that there is no car still moving along the path that they're walking."
As for drivers, Lopez asks that they be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections and on medians.
Halloween forecast: Cloudy, spooky, damp
Also, slow down in residential neighborhoods and reduce any distractions inside your car such as talking on the phone.
"We all also want to be cautious of electronic devices," Lopez said. "If you're on your phone, please put it down so you can focus more on those who are walking the streets as well."
Lopez said it's also important for parents to always inspect all candy to make sure that it hasn't been tampered with or opened - steps that could keep your kids safe this Halloween.
For more safety information, you can visit safekids.org.