4 Risks Parents Should be Aware of This Halloween

Halloween night! The most dangerous night of the year.

And I loved it as a kid. I loved the candy, the costumes and roaming the neighborhood; however, because I was a kid I never once gave thought to safety.

Oh, our teachers and parents warned us to be safe, even told stories of razor blades in apples and admonished us to check our candy. Didn’t matter. Halloween was...well, Halloween. And  Parents were just stuffy, older folks who lost the spirit of fun.

Then and Now

Back then I didn’t care much for Halloween safety. It was hard to imagine any risks associated with a night of fun.

But perspectives change. Now I am a father and it seems all I see are risks. Is there a tendency to be overly paranoid? Hmmm...Maybe. But it’s our duty, right? To be protective parents.

Life with my boys is like a game of chess. I try to think ahead and outmaneuver them --- sometimes I’m successful.  And with Halloween just up ahead and because I know my kids, I started thinking about the potential risks they might encounter this holiday.

So, here I offer four risks that I came up with, mainly because I have some personal experience with them.

Candles and Pumpkins...

These days a lot of people light their pumpkins with electric candles or lights. On the other hand, a candle flame in a pumpkin does have a pleasant nostalgic effect. If you choose to use candles, be warned, toddlers and fire don’t mix. All it takes are little hands tipping the pumpkin over and setting the curtains ablaze.

I never experienced blazing curtains. But we often use candles in our pumpkins, and I could just imagine my youngest setting the curtains or house on fire.

Glow Sticks...Riskier Than You Think

Yep. You wouldn’t think a glow stick would be a risk. 

I learned otherwise a few months back during a family camp out. Glow sticks were passed around to all the kids. Without thinking, I gave one to our fourteen-month old, and he immediately began chewing on it. 

Luckily my instinct warned me of the danger from the liquid and glass shards inside of the tube. I snatched it away before he broke through the plastic and got hurt. 

If you have little ones and they have glow sticks, watch them closely.

Toddlers aren’t the only ones who pose a risk with glow sticks. It goes without saying, you have to be aware of all ages, especially teenagers because they do stupid stuff.

The Candy Binge

Beware of the Binge. 

Experience is the advantage we have as parents. As the one kid in my family with the strongest sweet tooth, I went through my share of candy binges, along with the sick stomach that resulted.

You already know the downside of a candy binge. The kids won’t like it, but make sure you set up the rules for their Halloween haul. Otherwise, the alternative is caring for one or more kids who have a tummy that hurts.

Pet Fright Night

I have dogs in mind for this one. The truth is, most dogs aren’t trained how to properly react to people at the door. I admit... I’m one of those who hasn’t properly trained our dogs on good door etiquette. Whenever the doorbell rings, our dogs raise a ruckus.

So, if you're like me when it comes to your dog's door etiquette, make a plan to help your dog cope with a night of door knocks. If your dog won’t stay calm, consider a temporary exile to the backyard or spare room.

Bad things happen when a dog, even a well trained one, is overly stressed. Avoid Halloween accidents by planning ahead to help your dog through the evening.

A Night of Fun

Like I mentioned earlier, I loved Halloween as a kid. But I enjoy it even more these days because of my boys. I get to watch their excitement over costumes and candy. I just want my boys to have fun, and I want to keep them safe. 

There’s a lot of common safety tips out there. But because of my boys and their penchant for finding trouble in unexpected ways, I was prompted to look for other Halloween risks that are less common. I hope this post helps raise more safety awareness.

Share your thoughts or Halloween experiences you’ve had with your kids. Do you have additional safety tips? Leave comments below and let’s have fun this Halloween, and let’s keep our kids safe.