The California Poison Control System shared 13 treat-smart tips for parents to keep kids safe this Halloween season.
Getting thrills out of being spooked is a tradition at Halloween but the CPCS is urging parents to follow these guidelines to avoid a “fright night” this season:
- Do not let your child eat any candy until you’ve inspected it.
- Look for signs of tampering, such as an unusual appearance or discoloration, pinholes, or tears in wrappers, and discard anything that looks suspicious.
- Make sure your child sticks with factory-wrapped candy. Throw away unwrapped candy immediately.
- If your child has a food allergy, read the labels to ensure the allergen — such as peanuts, eggs, dairy, or tree nuts — isn’t present.
- If the candy or treat doesn’t have a label, throw it away.
- Avoid homemade treats and treats with personal packaging, unless you know and trust the individuals who prepared them.
- Fruit treats should be washed and cut open before allowing your child to eat them.
- If your child brings home a brand of candy that isn’t familiar, throw it away.
- Look for — and remove — potential choking hazards for young children such as small pieces of candy, gum, peanuts or small toys.
- Medicine and candy can look, smell, and even taste alike. So make sure to store all your medicines out of sight and reach of children.
- Try to keep your child from eating too much candy at once. Sugars and other sweeteners can act as laxatives when consumed in large amounts.
- Glow sticks are popular items used by trick-or-treaters to see and be seen at night, but don’t let your child chew on them as the luminescent liquid inside it can cause mouth irritation and an upset stomach. The liquid can also cause skin and eye irritation.
- Use nontoxic Halloween makeup on your child. Check the ingredients: some Halloween makeup contains lead or other toxic ingredients.
“Kids love dressing up in costumes for Halloween and going trick-or-treating for a candy haul that they then gorge on,” CPCS Dr. Rais Vohra said. “One way you can help your child avoid the temptation of eating some of their booty before you have an opportunity to inspect it is to make sure they have a snack before they head out for their candy harvest.”
California Poison Control Services can be reached at 800-222-1222.
