At a glance Halloween seems to be a fairly safe and straight forward family affair. Dress the kids up. Let them get a bag or two of candy. Take some snapshots for the family album. Clean up (especially that rotten jack o’lantern on your front step) and move on to Thanksgiving, right?
Well according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission there are some safety tips to follow this Trick or Treat Season. I will offer the unabridged version of their tips as they seem to (rightly) focus on a few obvious hazards.
Decorations Safety;
- Whenever possible do not use candles and when you do keep them away from kids, general foot-traffic and their costumes.
- When prepping your house for Trick-or-Treaters, clean the pathway leading up to your front door of all obstacles and make sure it is well lit.
- Don’t overload extension cords and only use healthy UL tested products
Costumes Safety;
- If wearing a mask, make sure they can breath well enough and make sure they can see (including peripheral vision)
- If they are going to be out on the streets Trick or Treating make sure they carry a flashlight and have reflective or light colored fabric or material on their outfit.
- Choose costume that are “flame resistant” which means they will be less likely to catch on fire.
- Weapons (swords, knives, et al.) should be soft and bendable or collapsible in nature.
- Make sure costume is weather appropriate, which may mean additional layers under outfit.
Treats;
- Make sure parent/guardian(s) check all candy, toys or treats (especially for young ones) for tampering or choke hazard
Like most holidays, a few products are being recalled for safety reasons. Crate & Barrel out of Northbrook, IL has recalled thirty thousand Halloween Ghost Tealight Burners for burn and fire hazards. There have been five reports of the tealight holders igniting and one report of the holder becoming excessively hot. Two consumers suffered burns to the hand. Just by looking at this product (above), I can tell you without doubt that many more people have been burned by this product – not necessarily bad ones but burns nonetheless.
Coyne’s & Company, out of Minneapolis MN, is recalling all fourteen thousand of their Casper the Friendly Ghost figurines due to excessive amounts of lead. These figurine stand approximately three inches tall and are made from resin and paper. Please check the original press release for model numbers and additional details as there are many different figurine designs included in this recall.
Sited Links;
Tag Home Decor | Ghost Tealight Recall Information
Halloween Figurines Recalled by Coyne’s & Company for Lead Hazard
Ghost Tealight Holders Recalled by Trade Associates Group and Crate & Barrel…
CPSC 2008 Halloween Safety Tips
Tags:
costumes,
halloween,
kids health,
recall,
safety
