Halloween in Texas: Avoid These Common Dangers When Trick-or-Treating

For kids, Halloween can be one of the most exciting times of the year! Dressing up as your favorite character or villain before walking around and receiving free candy? What's not to love?

Unfortunately, there are multiple risks when sending your children across streets and up to strangers' houses—who knew?

Read More: Spooky-Scary Texas DPS Safety Tips for Halloween

Trick-or-Treating Danger #3

Think about it, kids who are eager to run from one door to the next may be so preoccupied with filling their baggies that they don't even think to stop and look for traffic.

To make matters worse, many costumes are very dark and tough to see once the sun goes down. According to Disparti Law, there are a few tricks you can do yourself that will help ensure your child is protected when trick-or-treating:

• Add bright colors or reflective tape to your child's costume so drivers can see them in the road
• Stay on well-lit streets and always stay on the sidewalk
• Always look left, right, then left before crossing, and never assume drivers can see you
• Never cross the street between parked cars

Trick-or-Treating Danger #2

Children and falling over go together like white on rice. Throw in a heavy or restricting costume, and you've got quite the disaster on your hands.

Slipping and falling can lead to a spectrum of injuries from small bruises to trips to the hospital.

Once it gets dark, you should always accompany your child with a flashlight and make sure they can still see through their mask if they're wearing one.

Also, for all you homeowners out there, please remove any debris from your sidewalks that could pose as tripping hazards like extension cords or rocks. Nobody wants a child to hurt themselves on your property... trust me, it isn't fun for anybody.

Trick-or-Treating Danger #1

Finally, the number-one danger on this list is choking hazards. From hard candy that can get stuck in the throat to the risk of finding needles in candy and treats, it's crucial that parents double-check all candy before their kids dig in.

If your child has allergies to peanuts or other common ingredients or if your kid is young and prone to choking, make sure you filter their candy haul when you get home.

Or, you could do what my parents always did and take the "parent tax" and just take your favorite candy for the sake of "safety" before they can dig in... so sneaky; I respect it.