Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor

Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary

For Immediate Release

October 19, 2001

Contact: Jan Stegelman, 785-296-1223

Dress Up Safely This Halloween!

As Halloween creeps up, kids will dream of spooky costumes, jack-o'-lanterns and haunted houses. Halloween is one of the most thrilling nights of the year for children, and also one of the most dangerous. As kids hit the street to trick-or-treat, the potential for unintentional injury rises. In fact, children are four times more likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than any other night of the year. Halloween can indeed be scary, with increases in pedestrian injuries, burns and falls among children.

"Children may be distracted by the excitement of the night and the fun of trick-or-treating, and may not take safety to the street. Careless street crossing coupled with drivers' more limited vision at night can make for a deadly mix," said Jan Stegelman, coordinator of the Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition. "Many of the risks kids face on Halloween can be avoided if parents discuss important safety precautions with their kids."
As parents and children take time to construct costumes and decorations, the Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends the following:

For kids ages 12 and under:

• Adults should accompany children under age 12 on their trick-or-treat rounds.
• Attach the name, address and phone number (including area code) of children under age 12 to their clothes in case they get separated from adults.

For kids ages 12 and older:

• Teach your child his or her phone number.
• Make sure your children have change for a phone call in case they have a problem away from home.
• Instruct children to travel only in familiar areas and along a pre-established route.
• Instruct children never to enter a home or an apartment building unless accompanied by an adult.
• Set a time for children to return home.
• Restrict trick-or-treating visits to homes with porch or outside lights illuminated.
• Tell children to bring their treats home before eating them. Parents should check treats to ensure that items have not been tampered with and are safely sealed. Be careful with fruit. Inspect the surface closely for punctures or holes and cut it open before allowing a child to eat it. Notify local law enforcement if you believe tampering has occurred.
• Inspect any toys children receive to make sure they do not present a choking hazard or have small parts which could separate to present such a hazard.

All ages:

• Remove breakable items or obstacles such as tools, ladders and children's toys from your steps, lawn and porch. Keep jack-o'-lanterns lit with candles away from landings or doorsteps where costumes might brush against the flame. Discard novelty holiday lights that have frayed or loose wiring, or broken or cracked sockets.

PEDESTRIAN INJURIES
Halloween is the most dangerous night of the year for child pedestrians. Darting out into the street is one of the most common causes of pedestrian death among children. As children scurry from house to house collecting treats, it is important to take the following precautions:

Visibility

• Decorate costumes, bags and sacks with retro-reflective tape and stickers.
• Use costumes that are light or bright enough to make children more visible at night.

Traffic

• Teach children to walk, not run, while trick-or-treating.
• Remind children to stop at all street corners before crossing. Tell them to cross streets only at intersections and crosswalks.
• Teach them to look left, right and left again before crossing the street and to continue looking both ways as they cross.
• Teach them never to dart out into a street or cross between parked cars.
• Never let children under age 12 go trick-or-treating or cross the street without adult supervision.

Motorists

• Slow down in residential neighborhoods.
• Obey all traffic signs and signals.
• Watch for children walking in the street or on medians and curbs.
• Enter and exit driveways and alleyways slowly and carefully.
• Teach children to exit and enter the car on the curbside, away from traffic.

FALLS
On Halloween night, cumbersome costumes and blinding masks can make walking safely through dark neighborhoods difficult. The following tips can help prevent fall-related injuries:

• Apply face paint or cosmetics directly to the face. It is safer than a loose-fitting mask that can obstruct a child's vision. If a mask is worn, be certain it fits securely and provides adequate ventilation. Cut the eye holes large enough for full vision.
• Give trick-or-treaters flashlights. This also helps motorists see children.
• Make costumes short enough to avoid tripping.
• Secure hats so they will not slip over children's eyes.
• Dress children in shoes that fit. Adult shoes are not safe for trick-or-treaters. The larger size makes it easier for them to trip and fall.
• Allow children to carry only flexible knives, swords or other props. Anything they carry could injure them if they fall.
• Teach children not to cut across yards. Lawn ornaments and clotheslines are "hidden hazards" in the dark. Tell your children to stay on the sidewalk at all times.

BURNS
Fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children. To make sure your Halloween is fire safe, the Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition recommends the following:
Look for "flame resistant" labels on costumes, masks, beards and wigs.
Use fire resistant material when making costumes.
Avoid costumes made of flimsy material and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts. These are more likely to come in contact with an exposed flame, such as a candle, than tighter fitting costumes.
Keep candles, pumpkins with candles, matches and lighters out of children's reach.

The National SAFE KIDS Campaign is pleased to partner for the third consecutive year with Nestlé Chocolate & Confections to disseminate a safety checklist with important pedestrian safety messages to children this fall. In addition to this checklist, which will be distributed by the Campaign's more than 300 state and local SAFE KIDS coalitions, millions of Nestlé candy bags (Baby Ruth, Butterfinger and Nestlé Crunch) will have the National SAFE KIDS Campaign logo, as well as pedestrian safety tips for children. For a free Halloween safety checklist, parents can write the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20004 or visit www.safekids.org.

The Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition, Inc. is a nonprofit group of 67 statewide organizations and businesses that have joined to protect Kansas children from unintentional injury -- the leading killer of Kansas kids. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Anderson, Barber, Clay, Ford, Johnson, Marion, Montgomery, Osage, Pottawatomie, and Shawnee Counties, as well as Hutchinson, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Norton, Salina, and Wichita. Kansas SAFE KIDS is part of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.