Kids spend weeks looking forward to Halloween, creating their costumes and making plans with friends for trick-or-treating. You want your little one to have fun, but you also want them to stay safe. Avoid a family medicine emergency this Oct. 31 by following these preventative tips.

5 Family Medicine Safety Tips for Halloween 

1. Bundle Up

Temperatures can be chilly in late October, especially at night. Make sure kids are appropriately bundled up. If temperatures are near freezing, ensure they have gloves and a hat as well as a jacket. 

2. Stay Visible

Trick-or-treaters can be difficult to see after dark. Get a reflective vest or patches for your child to wear over their costume so drivers can see them. Instruct them to stay in well-lit areas, and equip them with flashlights for safety.

3. Walk Safely

Kids are twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than any other night of the year. If your children are old enough to trick-or-treat without you, tell them to stay on sidewalks, cross only at designated spots, and look both ways before crossing.  Also remind kids to watch where they are going, not walk around staring at their phone screens.

4. Check Candy

Incidents of contaminated candy are quite rare, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Before kids dive into their sweets, check them to make sure wrappers are intact. 

5. Skip Candles

If you plan to welcome trick-or-treaters, you may have a spooky jack-o’-lantern outside your home. Instead of candles, use electronic tea lights to illuminate the pumpkin from the inside. Curious kids might reach for candles, leaving you running to the family medicine cabinet or to a doctor.

Hillside Family Medicine provides residents of Anchorage, AK, with compassionate, comprehensive health care services, including pediatric care. If your little one does get hurt this Halloween and needs non-urgent assistance, they can help. Their doctors have been active in the community for over 20 years. Get a full overview of their family medicine and occupational therapy services online. For an appointment, call (907) 344-0200.