Halloween Safety Tips from Intermountain Health

Parents often worry about tainted candy on Halloween, but the bigger concern is cars and traffic when it comes to children’s safety, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

Here are some safety tips parents can use to help keep trick-or-treaters safe from Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital and Safe Kids Worldwide:

• Have trick-or-treaters carry glow sticks or flashlights, and wear reflective tape or stickers on costumes.
• Full face masks can limit a child’s vision; consider putting makeup or face paint on your child instead.
• Adults should accompany trick-or-treaters under age 12, and help children use crosswalks.
• Daylight is always better for pedestrians. Trick or Treat early while it’s still light outside, and then head back home when it’s dark for another activity, like a movie night.
• When crossing the street, put electronic devices down and keep heads up. Walk across the street, don’t run!
• Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.

“One of the biggest opportunities to prevent injury and ruin a Halloween for parents not only parents but everyone is simply awareness,” said Dr. Nathan Miller, Intermountain Saratoga Springs Emergency Center medical director. “Knowing there are lots of excited children running around, be more aware when driving. Look for obstacles that might be trip hazards along sidewalks and driveways. And just be aware of your surroundings.”

One other precaution: When kids come home for trick or treating, keep in mind that candy is one of the most common causes of choking in children — and choking is often silent. Make sure you are watching your little ones while they are enjoying their treats.

Halloween Safety for Motorists

Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital is urging motorists to “Spot the Tot” to prevent unintentional motor vehicle injuries on Halloween.

Kids are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year. Spot the Tot and other Driver safety habits can help prevent tragedy during the holiday.

Adopted by child safety advocates around the world, Spot the Tot is a Primary Children’s injury prevention program designed to prevent motorists from accidentally rolling over a child as they pull away from a curb or driveway.

While backovers and frontovers may seem rare, they happen regularly and can result in devastating injuries or death. In the past decade, more than 60 Utah children have been killed and more than 500 have been injured by accidental backovers and frontovers.

Nationwide, more than 580 children have died in such accidents in the past five years. More than 15,000 children are injured in backovers or frontovers every year.

Motorists should use extra care on Halloween night, when trick-or-treaters are out in force and can be hard to explained Michelle Jamison, community health program manager for Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital.

Here are some Halloween Spot the Tot tips for drivers:
•    Walk all the way around the car before you get in to ensure children are not behind you.
•    Turn off distractions, including your mobile phone and music.
•    Roll down the windows and listen for children.
•    Ask an adult to stay with kids while you exit a driveway to improve safety.
•    Consider backing into the driveway during daylight hours to eliminate the need for backing up.

More information is available at primarychildrens.org/safety. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 34 hospitals, 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.