CPSC Offers Halloween Safety Tips

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is offering safety tips for parents and guardians of children who plan to go trick or treating this Halloween.

- Look for costumes, masks, beards and wigs labeled "Flame Resistant." Although this does not mean these items won't catch fire, such labeling indicates that they will resist burning and should extinguish quickly once removed from the ignition source. Flimsy materials and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts should be avoided to minimize the risk of contact with candles or other sources of ignition.

- Make or buy costumes light and bright enough to be clearly visible to motorists. For greater visibility in dusk or darkness, costumes can be decorated or trimmed with reflective tape which will glow in the beam of a car's headlights. Bags or sacks also should be light colored or decorated with reflective tape. Reflective tape is usually available in hardware, bicycle, and sporting goods stores. Children also should carry flashlights to see and be seen more easily.

- Costumes should be short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling. For safe walking, children should wear sturdy, well-fitting shoes, not mother's high heels. Costume accessories, such as swords or knives, should be of soft or flexible materials.

- Hats, scarfs or masks should fit securely to prevent them from slipping over children's eyes and affecting their vision.

- Warn children not to eat any of their treats before they get home. Examine all treats carefully for evidence of tampering before allowing children to eat them.

- Adults should examine any toy or novelty items received as treats in lieu of candy. Do not allow young children to have any toy or novelty items which are small enough to present a choking hazard or which have small parts or components that could separate during use and present a choking hazard.

- Smaller children should always be accompanied by an older responsible child or an adult. All children should use the sidewalk rather than walk in the street, and they should WALK not run from house to house. Children should be cautioned against running out from between parked cars, or across lawns and yards where ornaments, furniture, or clothes lines present dangers.

- Children should go only to homes where residents have outside lights on as a sign of welcome. Warn children not to enter homes or apartments.

- Those receiving trick-or-treaters and who choose to give toys or similar novelty items in lieu of candy should only give toys which are not small enough to choke young children and which have no parts or components that may separate during use and be a choking hazard to young children.

- Those receiving trick-or-treaters should remove anything that could be an obstacle from steps, lawns, and porches. Candlelit jack-o'-lanterns should be kept away from landings and doorsteps where costumes could brush against the flame. Indoor jack-o'-lanterns should be kept away from curtains, decorations, or other furnishings that could be ignited.

Commission Chairman Jacqueline Jones-Smith encourages parents to follow these safety tips, particularly if their children are just beginning to learn about the "Halloween tradition."

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is providing this Halloween Safety advisory as part of its mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with consumer products. The Commission's objective is to reduce the estimated 28.5 million injuries and 2l,600 deaths that occur each year with l5,000 different types of consumer products within CPSC's jurisdiction.