In Hollywood and across South Florida, it’s now the spooky season. Kids are looking forward to pumpkins, costumes, and trick-or-treating, and adults are putting up decorations to turn homes frightful. There’s no need to be afraid of ghouls, but did you know that Halloween is among the top four holidays for childhood injuries? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) also reports that over 4000 American adults also sustain injuries related to this season.
At Flaxman Law Group, our family-based law firm is working with younger family members to create a spooky and fun Halloween. But we also want everyone in the Hollywood, Miami, Homestead, and surrounding communities to have a safe holiday, too. That’s why we’ve put together these tips to help you avoid the very real scary risks of this season.
Tips to Avoid Halloween Injuries
- Let children take part in pumpkin carving by tracing patterns on the pumpkin or scooping out the seeds, but let adults take care of carving.
- When carving a pumpkin, use a sharp knife and go slow.
- Use battery-operated tealights instead of real candles as part of your decorations to reduce the burn and fire hazard.
- Avoid costumes with long hems, strings, loose fabrics, and long pieces, since these can cause trip and fall and burn risks.
- Add reflective tape to costumes and encourage children to carry flashlights to keep them visible during trick or treating.
- Choose makeup over masks to improve visibility.
- Choose regular makeup from the drugstore or professional makeup over novelty items often sold at this time of year.
- If you or your child want to create spooky effects with specialty contact lenses, always buy them from your eye doctor rather than online.
- Do a test run of any costume you or your children are going to wear. It’s important that costumes have no sharp edges and allow for full mobility.
- Don’t place any pumpkins or other obstacles on or near walkways, where people can trip on them.
- Have a discussion with your children about Halloween safety before October 31.
- Check your smoke detectors and review your household fire safety plan and emergency fire escape plan with your children before Halloween.
- Take the time now to check your Halloween decorations and costumes for any signs of damage or serious wear and tear. That way, you’ll have time to replace them before October 31.
- Make sure trick or treaters are accompanied by a few adults or older children. Multiple supervisors can make it easier to keep track of every child.
- Always check candy before letting your child eat it.
According to CPSC, the most common childhood injuries during Halloween are pumpkin-carving related hand injuries and trip and fall injuries caused by awkward costumes. Traffic accidents are a close third and burn injuries also increase at this time of year. Keeping these risks top of mind and working to prevent these injuries can keep everyone safer.
The Flaxman Law Group phone lines at 866-352-9626 will remain staffed 24/7, so you can always speak to a live person if you or your child is injured and you need to schedule a consultation with a Florida childhood injury claims attorney. Your first consultation with us is free and comes with no obligation, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you or your child are injured and you’d like to know whether you have a claim.