Better Safe than Scary
Halloween is supposed to be a fun and scary holiday. If you’ve been following our latest posts and social media content, you know we get a little carried away with promoting our Halloween specials and publishing fun Halloween-themed content. But we’re not sorry!
It’s been an entertaining month publishing a scary amount of content for a fun holiday. But with the fun part of Halloween comes the scary stuff too. It’s unfortunate that Halloween is infamous for being one of the most dangerous holidays of the year. In fulfilling our sense of caring and responsibility to our followers and anybody who comes across our content, what would all of our offbeat Halloween content be worth if we don’t offer up something that truly matters? That something as it relates to “All Hallow’s Eve” content would be Halloween safety.
Here are some Halloween safety tips to make for a safe and fantastic holiday experience:
Carry a phone
Yeah, yeah, who doesn’t have a phone? We know. Everybody has a cell phone these days, even kids. So make sure your child has one on them before they go trick-or-treating in case of an emergency. Be sure that your kids know which important numbers to call and teach them how to speed dial those numbers too!
Pay attention
Phone zombies are everywhere! So speaking of cell phones and portable electronic devices, make sure you and your kids are alert and paying attention at all times. You don’t want you or your kids to not be paying attention and walk into oncoming traffic while playing with your phones, so pay attention! Seriously, put down the Snapchat and stick to collecting candy!
Walk, don’t run
Come on now! Halloween safety or not, it’s common sense to always look both ways before crossing a street. And even if you’re on a time crunch to get as much candy as possible, no amount of free candy is worth getting hit by a car! So do yourself and your little monsters a favor and walk, don’t run across any street.
Drive carefully
Eyes on the road pal! Motorists should keep a sharp eye out for children at all times, including when entering or exiting driveways. And you should never text or take selfies while driving, especially on Halloween, where all sorts of creatures of the night will be walking the streets. It’s not just children either. Halloween parties are abound for adults. So make sure you’re not speeding and don’t end up hitting a drunk (pardon our French) dumbass who’s not paying attention before crossing the street.
Stay visible
Keep things lit. Halloween is supposed to be scary, so dark costumes seem like a great idea in context! Unless they’re too dark! If you or your children are wearing dark costumes this Halloween, make sure you have a flashlight, lanterns, reflectors or glowsticks handy at all times so you can easily be spotted by oncoming traffic.
Find a chaperone
Are they really “all grown up”? Don’t leave your children alone, even if you think they’re old enough to trick-or-treat without a grown-up. No matter how safe you think your neighborhood is, make sure your children don’t go off into the night without a responsible adult. If you can’t take your own children out to get free candy, make sure their chaperone is somebody you know well and is somebody you can trust to keep your little monsters safe.
Enforce curfews
Eh-eh-eh! “But mom!” … But mom” nothing! Your children might think curfews suck and might whine and complain about them. But if you’re not trick-or-treating with them, make sure they know what time you expect them to be home and actually enforce it!
Stay away from the dark
Yeah, um, no! Who knows what that dark creepy house is hiding? So never let your children go to unlit or under-lit homes. Avoid houses without a porch light on or without some kind of adequate lighting. We know some homeowners are going for atmosphere and effect with dark homes. But that house could also belong to “Nestor the Child Molester” or who knows who else! As tempting as it may be to go up to a dark, scary looking house on Halloween, it’s best to avoid it. You never know who or what is lurking in the darkness.
Look out for strange vehicles
Go away creep! Make sure your children know not to get into a stranger’s car for treats. If a stranger pulls up trying to lure children into a vehicle for a treat: it’s a trick! If you notice any such activity, notify local law enforcement immediately. Teach your children to scream for help and run if a stranger pulls up trying to lure them or anybody else into their vehicle.
Dark alleys: avoid them! Enough said.
Don’t be a clown
No seriously, DON’T BE A CLOWN! Yes, we’re aware of the popularity of the “IT” movie and “IT’s” popular villain Pennywise the Clown. It’s the “IT” thing to be this year! (HA!) But all joking and bad puns aside, with last year’s epidemic of creepy clowns getting arrested, beaten and even shot dead, a clown costume is the worse thing you can wear this Halloween. While Pennywise the Dancing Clown has returned to insane popularity this year, people are still freaked out about the clown epidemic of Halloween 2016. So be something else. ANYTHING ELSE!
Inspect all candy
Check it or chuck it! Before your kids eat anything handed to them by a stranger, make sure you inspect all candy before they (or you) eat it. Ask your kids not to eat any candy until it has been inspected thoroughly. Unfortunately there are some very sick people out there that do sick things on Halloween. So make sure your kids don’t eat anything that will do them harm.
Find fireproof costumes
Your costume is hot! Yeah, but make sure all costumes, wigs and accessories are nonflammable and safe. Check costumes and accessories for flame resistant, fireproof or fire retardant labels before buying. Take a minute to read the ingredients before buying any makeup too to ensure there’s nothing in there that could cause allergic reactions or other harm. And if weapons are part of your accessories … come on now, don’t bring REAL weapons with you! Seriously? And definitely don’t let your kids carry them either! If weapons are THAT essential to your costume, don’t be cheap ass and buy some fake ones!
Take it off
It burns!!!! Even with the diabetic coma you’ll enter after eating all that candy, Halloween safety also includes looking out for your health. So remove all makeup off you and your children’s faces before going to bed to avoid skin or eye irritation.
You Just Can’t Cut It
Don’t let your kids carve pumpkins without adult supervision. Or better yet, don’t let them carve pumpkins at all! If your children want to participate in the pumpkin carving festivities, let them draw the face or artwork on the pumpkin with a marker and then let a grownup do the cutting.
Trip or Treat!
Welcome visitors safely. To make your home safe for visiting trick-or-treaters, make sure you clear your front porch and front yard of anything they can trip on or get injured by. Set the pumpkins we just told you your children shouldn’t carve in a safe area and place any decorations such as Halloween lights in places people won’t trip over them. If you’re hosting a haunted house, make sure to childproof your home. Halloween safety first! You know, because you don’t want anybody to get hurt on your watch or get sued!
Keep your dogs on a leash
Down boy! Yes, your dog is part of the family, we get it! But even if you want to dress “Cujo” up as part of your festivities, make sure you keep your dog(s) on a leash or in an enclosed area to keep them from jumping on or biting trick-or-treaters. Again, you don’t want anybody getting hurt on your property and you don’t want an angry parent suing you. So as much as you love your canine, you don’t want it getting scared and attacking visitors.
Know where the sex offenders live
They could be your neighbors. We already mentioned “Nestor the Child Molester”. And it sucks to even have to include this on the list, but check websites for sex offenders living in your area and avoid visiting their homes. Like we said, there are sick people out there and sexual predators may see Halloween as a prime opportunity to attack. Know where they live and make sure your children stay away from their homes.
Where’s the party?
One last thing. If your kids are going to a sponsored Halloween party such as at a church, a house or a local community center, make sure you know who their chaperones are; which friends they’re going with; where it is; how to get there; what time the event starts and finishes; and that they have a safe ride home if you will not be attending or picking them up.
Halloween safety is no joke, (as The Crypt Keeper would say) “boils and ghouls”! So please be responsible and follow these Halloween safety tips. Super Heat & Air would like to wish you and yours a safe and Happy Halloween 2017! And yes, we will be working on Halloween! So if you have a “scare conditioning” emergency, give us a call at (813) 355-0288!
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