Trick-or-Treat Safety
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Trick-or-Treat Safety

As you ready your little ghouls and goblins for trick-or-treating, it’s important to review basic safety rules to help ensure their holiday is scary in the best possible kind of ways.

Here’s a terrifying Halloween fact: Two times as many child pedestrians die on Halloween compared to other days. Thanks to a too-often deadly combination of being out after dark and wearing vision-limiting costumes, what should be a fun evening of mischief and merriment, Halloween can quickly become an actual nightmare.

However, by taking a few simple precautions and following practices, trick-or-treaters and their escorts can safely navigate their way home with plenty of candy in tow.

Here’s where to start:

COSTUMES

Make sure costumes, wigs and accessories are all fire-resistant.

Make sure costumes and footwear don’t create built-in tripping hazards.

Attach reflective tape to the sides, front and back of costumes and bags or use glow sticks to keep trick-or-treaters visible after dark.

If possible, use make-up instead of masks, which can limit visibility. Be sure to test make up on a small area of skin before applying to a child’s face and remove all makeup before bed to prevent skin and/or eye irritation.

TRICK-OR-TREATING

Always accompany young children around the neighborhood. Older trick-or-treaters should only venture out in the company of at least one other.

Caution children against entering homes or cars for treats.

Only cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.

Keep to sidewalks and designated pathways. If there aren’t sidewalks, walk facing traffic and as far off the road as possible.

Encourage children to walk and not run between houses.

Plan your route to keep road crossings to a minimum.

Only go to homes where a porch light is on.

Keep your eyes on the road and not on phones or other electronic devices.

TREAT EATING 

Do not allow children to eat treats before they get home where you can inspect candy.

Do not allow children to eat anything that is not commercially wrapped or any treats with torn or damaged wrappers, including pinholes. Any treats that appear unusual or discolored or suspicious in any way should be thrown out.

If you have young children, remove any small candies, including hard candy, peanuts, or gum, as they may present a choking hazard.

If your child has a food allergy, be sure to read all labels carefully to make sure allergens aren’t present.

DRIVING SAFETY

Drive with your headlights on, even before dusk.

Be alert for kids, especially at intersections, medians and on curbs

If you’re transporting trick-or-treaters, make sure they’re buckled up appropriately in a car seat or with a seat belt each time they get in the car.

If a costume makes it difficult to buckle a car seat or belt correctly, remove the costume or problematic portion of the costume each time they get in the car.

Try to park in spot where you do not need to back up.

Enter and exit driveways, parking spots and side streets with extreme caution.

By being cautious and mindful of safety, you can make ensure Halloween is a treat for all.

Jaclyn Lozier, MD, FAAP, is the Chair of Pediatrics, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and the Medical Director, SVMC Pediatrics.

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How to Become a Mask Wearer

Long before COVID-19, online chat groups for people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) were filled with posts about how uncomfortable it is to wear a mask in public: not physically uncomfortable, a fact that was barely mentioned, but psychologically uncomfortable. For people with this condition or the lung transplant used to cure it, catching a cold or the flu could be deadly. They need to wear masks in public to help protect themselves from getting ill.

The participants discussed how awkward it is riding the bus in a mask, going to the grocery store in a mask, or boarding a plane while wearing one. They were mostly self-conscious that others would think they were ill or weak. Many would rather suffer the risk of getting fatally sick than put a mask on in a department store.

Now, we've all been directed to wear masks in public. Both Bennington and Wilmington's Select Boards have passed local mandates requiring masks in public places. This—along with distancing and handwashing—are crucial parts of returning to a more normal way of life. Suddenly, we are all feeling the psychological discomfort PF patients have felt for many years.

People usually have an interest in blending in. And, just like doing anything out of the ordinary, wearing a mask for the first time definitely feels like putting yourself out there. If we want to return to a somewhat normal way of life, masks are crucially important, along with frequent, thorough handwashing and keeping a distance from others.

Here are a few tips for making the leap from being someone nervous about wearing a mask to being a person who wears one regularly.

Do it for others. We know that people can spread COVID-19 as many as a few days before they get sick. Even if you feel fine, you could have COVID-19 right now without knowing it. At the same time, masks are far better at keeping sick people from spreading germs than they are at keeping people from getting sick. So wearing a mask isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of altruism. It's like saying, "I am not certain that I am not sick, so I want to pay those around me the consideration of limiting the likelihood I will infect them." Think of it as a badge of kindness.

Get a mask that fits. We know that masks are not completely comfortable physically. Getting the right fit makes a big difference in their "wearability." Cloth masks are readily available online and from local groups. The Green Mountain Mask Makers have excellent information and resources. If you can, purchase a few types in a few sizes to see which you like best. Buy enough of that type to allow washing between trips out in public.

Get a mask that you like. Once you have found a mask source and as long as you have a choice, pick one that you like. You can choose colors that match your wardrobe or that represent your interests, like camouflage. There are even masks that look like fashionable scarves when they hang around your neck. The sooner we start thinking of masks as part of our outfits, as essential and unremarkable as shoes or a belt, the healthier we will all be.

Try to quit caring about what others think. This one is hard. But one wise PF patient wrote, "I just don't give a darn!" Essentially, he shared that if people want to judge him for wearing a mask, so be it. Their opinions don't have a single thing to do with him. Many in the chat group applauded his confidence and vowed to adopt his attitude.

If we all do our best, soon the cultural scale will tip. Wearing a mask or not wearing one will cease to be a political statement. It will be normal. And thankfully, if wearing a mask in public, handwashing and sanitizing, and keeping our distance are all normal, going out into public again can be safe and normal too.

Donna Barron, RN, is the infection preventionist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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