Tips For Happy Candy Lips Not Sad Emergency Room Trips

Halloween is suppose to be scary and spooky but taking your child to the emergency room for an accident that could have been easily avoided is not the scare any parent wishes for. From trips and falls to fatal accidents they all happen on this frightful night. Below are a few tips from Senior Instructor Brian Higgins of Success Martial Arts to help prevent the avoidable.

1) Have a light but filling meal to prevent kids from having blood sugar and energy swings that lead to poor judgment and impulsive behavior. This will also make it easier for them to resist eating candy that hasn’t been checked.

2) Make sure costumes fit properly. There should be nothing dragging on the ground to trip on. Keep hands free not trapped in sleeves. Wear shoes that fit and are suitable for walking. Recognize wigs and masks may impair vision. Make proper adjustments with safety pins and scissors before you head out. Face paints are also a great alternative to masks.

3) Dress the entire group for the weather, be prepared for the temperature drop after sunset.

4) Make your kids glow. Use glow in the dark duct tape, reflective tape, glowsticks, and or flashlights to make kids visible to potentially distracted drivers.

5) A courier type bag is better than a bag you carry in your hands.

6) Make sure to take a cell phone

7) Don’t have the kids take extra stuff (swords, axes, shepherd hooks) they just get in the way.

8) Explain to the kids they are never to enter any house or car ever for any reason.

9) Don’t go to homes that don’t look like they are expecting you.

10) Keep kids in adult supervised groups.

11) Be especially careful about crossing streets and driveways. Distracted drivers are the biggest Halloween risk. It's best for parents to get out and walk with their kids. Distracted parents “cruising” is a huge risk, a child is 4 times more likely to get hit by a car on Halloween than any other day according to the (CDC) Centers for Disease and Prevention.

12) Don't allow the kids to eat the candy until it is checked.

13) Get the family to bed at reasonable time there is school and work tomorrow.

Trick or treating is a long standing tradition of the Magic Valley let's keep all our little ghouls and goblins safe and have a fun filled non-tragic evening.