Crime & Safety

Halloween Safety Tips From the Sheriff's Station

Deputy Shawn Brownell from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station offers safety tips, so your kids can enjoy a safe Halloween.

Halloween may be a fun holiday for kids, but for parents, trick-or-treat time may be a bit tricky.

Concerns about children's safety–whether they are out in the neighborhood or back home with bountiful bags of goodies–can darken the day more quickly than a black cat. But don't worry!

Following these few Halloween safety tips will make the day a "howling" good time for all.

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Make sure that your kids dress up safely

  • Check that the costumes are flame-retardant, so the little ones aren't in danger near burning jack-o-lanterns and other fire hazards.
  • Keep costumes short to prevent trips, falls and other bumps in the night.
  • Try make-up instead of a mask. Masks can be hot and uncomfortable and, more importantly, they can obstruct a child's vision–a dangerous situation when kids are crossing streets and going up and down steps.
  • Make sure your kids are wearing light colors or put reflective tape on their costume.
  • Trick-or-treaters should always be in groups, so they aren't a tempting tarket for real-life goblins. Parents should always accompany young children.

Make trick-or-treating trouble-free

Find out what's happening in Agoura Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Make sure older kids trick-or-treat with friends. Together, map out a safe route, so parents know where they'll be. Tell them to stop only at familiar homes where the outside lights are on.
  • Try to get your kids to trick-or-treat while it's still light out. If it's dark, make sure someone has a flashlight and pick well lit streets.
  • Make sure kids know not to enter stranger's cars.

Treats

  • Kids need to know not to eat their treats until they get home. One way to prevent your kids from digging in while they're still out is to feed them a meal or substantial snack beforehand.
  • Check out all treats at home in a well-lighted place.
  • What to eat? Only unopened candies and other treats that are in original wrappers. Don't forget to inspect fruit and other homemade goodies for anything suspicious. And remind kids not to eat everything at once.

Patch wishes you a fun and safe Halloween!


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