MILWAUKEE — With Halloween right around the corner, kids are getting their costumes ready and are excited about trick or treating. But with that, there are some safety precautions parents should consider before letting their kids run from door to door.
For Alex and his son Mateo, Halloween is their favorite holiday. They love dressing up in family-themed costumes and handing out candy.
It's around this time of year when Alex reminds Mateo about being safe on Halloween.
"We always tell him to stay by our side. He does have an older brother so the older brother does help," said Alex.
According to safekids.org, children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Battalion Chief Dan Tyk with the North Shore Fire Department in Wisconsin says this is the time of year when drivers need to be extra vigilant in residential areas.
"We’re talking about young kids that are out excited about candy and heading from house to house excited about trick or treat. They may not be paying attention to following those street rules that so many parents teach their kids," said Tyk.
Some ways to ensure your kid is seen at night by drivers are by carrying glow sticks, wearing light-up shoes, using flashlights, wearing reflective tape, or putting stickers on costume bags. Other trick-or-treating advice is to remind kids not to dart out on the roadway, cross at corners and crosswalks, make sure their costume is the right size to prevent trips and falls, and remember masks can limit a child's visibility.
"Travel in groups when it comes to safety," said Tyk.
He also said parents should check their child's candy thoroughly, looking for puncture holes or broken seals.
"There are cases out there where fentanyl is starting to appear like candy, and the last thing we would want is inadvertently or maliciously something like that to end up in a candy basket for one of the kids trick-or-treating," said Tyk.
Parents should also talk to their children about an emergency plan. Popular trick-or-treating times are between 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. so be especially aware of kids during those times.
For more Halloween safety tips click here.
This article was written by Adriana Mendez for WTMJ.
