By: Karina Estevez, Ary Perez, Victor Patino

It is fall and Halloween is right around the corner, people dressed like ghouls, children walking all over the streets asking for candy, and halloween candy corn. But have you consider ways to be safe during this Halloween. The dangers on Halloween are many especially for the children trick or treating. There has been incidents of children digesting tainted Halloween candy, there has also been cases of children being hit by cars on the night of Halloween and there has also been accidents of children’s costumes catching on fire because of jack-o-lanterns. When ask about Halloween many adults don’t consider the dangers of crossing the streets at night and the dangers of their children receiving candy from strangers.

When people think of Halloween they think of costumes, candy, and having good times trick or treating with their friends. The main focus on Halloween for many kids is trick or treating, which has been part of the tradition for many years, and many people worry about the safety for their small children. So older siblings like 11th grader Belén Reynaga who go trick or treating with their younger siblings tend to keep an eye on them, “I just keep him [her little brother] close to me,” making sure that he is safe. This is important because you never know what might happen to your sibling if you look away or don’t notice who is around them. An example of someone who would be taken trick or treating would be twelfth grader Octavio Gallardo, “My mom and aunt would take me [trick or treating]” since he was still a small child back then. But he also said, “They didn’t do anything, just watch us” when asked what his parent or guardian would do to keep him safe when he went trick or treating.

Another part of Halloween that parents specifically worry about is letting their children eat the candy that they collected. Just like Belén, many people would check their candy before eating them. When asked why she checks her candy, Belén said, “Yes I check my candy because I don’t want to die.” But others like Yuliana Lopez don’t check their candy, “because I have never open up a candy and seen a blade.” Even though she doesn’t check the candy herself, she’s not allowed to eat the candy until the next day, after she gives her parents the candy. Even Octavio would be forced to check his candy when he got home before he could eat any of them.

Here are some safety tips you can follow in order to have a safe Halloween. A way to be careful where you trick or treat try to go to an area you are comfortable with. When going to ask for candy try to do it in big groups or with adults, like how 11th grader Yuliana said, “The adult decides the houses I trick or treat at,” which is done as a safety precautions. A way to protect children while crossing the streets is to decorate costumes and bags in reflective tape. With the reflective tapes the drivers will be aware of small children and this will prevent accidents from occurring. Children should also use face paint/makeup instead of masks to prevent them from tripping or walking into objects or other children. A common problem that parents have while taking their kids trick or treating is losing their child in crowds of trick or treaters. A good way to not lose sight of kids while trick or treating is by making them carry flashlights or glow sticks. Children should also avoid having long costumes to avoid tripping.