Top tips for Keeping Children Safe this Halloween

Helen Underwood, a former NHS Physio, First Aid Expert, and now entrepreneurial mum on a mission, is a real life ‘life saver’. Previously having worked in Children’s ICU along with many other NHS departments she’s dedicated her 20+ years career to helping people, and now as the founder of First Aid company Underwood Training, is actively creating a ripple effect of empowerment, spreading her first aid knowledge across businesses, schools, hospices and communities – because she believes that First Aid knowledge is still not general knowledge, and that needs to change.

Halloween can be an exciting time of year for children, with dressing up in costumes then going out after dark to trick or treat! Whilst it’s supposed to be spooky and fun, families would rather avoid any horrors, so here are some top tips for having a safe and spooktacular time:

Care with pumpkin carving – this is a real hazard in terms of cuts, so is definitely an activity to supervise. There are many great ideas online to use with younger children including painting/decorating pumpkins rather than carving, using stencils and then adults doing the actual cutting. Scooping out the seeds with a spoon is great fun and it’s a bit like playing with slime – definitely spooky fun!

Be visible and stay safe near roads:

• Give children torches – ensure that they know to shine the light at the ground away from other people’s eyes
• Leave mobile phones in pockets (except for taking the occasional photo!) as they can distract children and adults from checking for traffic
• Masks can impair hearing and make it harder to see – so save these for indoors and go for face paint instead when out trick or treating. It’s a good idea to test face paints in advance in case of skin reactions.
• Add reflective tape to costumes to make children more visible to traffic
• Children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult, with older children trick and treating with friends agreeing a pre-planned route and having a method of contacting a trusted adult

Keep warm: Children will be keen to show off their costumes and reluctant to wear a coat. However it can be very cold after dark. Encourage them to layer up underneath their costumes – this way they will avoid the early stages of hypothermia (the first sign is shivering) and will have so much more fun.

Fancy dress costumes are manufactured to a different safety standard compared to normal clothing and are often highly flammable. Those with UKCA or CE marks have been fire tested and will burn more slowly, however there is still a risk.

• Avoid placing real candles near the paths of trick or treaters. A good alternative is electric tea lights with button batteries – however be aware that button batteries can badly injure children if swallowed, so ensure any battery compartments are screwed shut.
• Remind children to keep back from any naked flames.
• Teach children in advance how to STOP, DROP and ROLL to put out any flames should the worst happen. If you make it into a fun game, they may be the person in future years who remembers what to do to help someone else in need!
• STOP what you are doing
• DROP to the ground with your hands covering your face (this is as flames go upwards, so they won’t burn the face)
• ROLL over and over to smother the flames

Some treats are choking hazards for smaller children. Encourage younger children to check with an adult when out before consuming anything they have collected in their ‘treat’ container and go for options which are not likely to cause choking whilst out and about. Once back home ensure they are sat down if eating things like hard candy lollipops. You can also swap treats that may be unsuitable for your child.

Be allergy aware:  Children who have dietary requirements due to allergies or intolerances can often feel like they miss out.

• Consider having a range of options for treats so that not everything is chocolate based and possibly include things like stickers.
• Ensure edible sweets and treats are individually wrapped. This is much more hygienic as little hands will likely be covered in germs.
• If you are allergy aware, one way you can show this to prospective trick or treaters is to have a teal coloured pumpkin (or a picture of one) outside your house. A teal pumpkin says “I’m allergy aware”.

Have you heard of ‘The Switch Witch’?!

A special friend of parents of younger children and those with allergies.

Once back home after the fun has finished, when children take stock of their haul of treats, separate them into two piles. Treats they can have, and those that they can’t. Those that can’t be safely had by the child are left out for The Switch Witch to swap after the child has gone to sleep.

Stay safe and have fun!

For more information head to www.underwood-training.co.uk