Halloween Safety Tips - The Martial Arts Way

Halloween Safety Tips - The Martial Arts Way
written by: Master McCorry

Getting scared for Halloween is fun; however, it need not be at the cost of your child’s safety. Usually, it is quite normal that a kids-night-out will result in some scratches and tears, but that's not a problem compared to the real threats. The increasing number of child pedestrian fatalities on the day of Halloween over decades has led media to describe October 31 as the "deadliest day" for children. There are also reports of abduction attempts, hazards resulting from dangerous costumes and so on. Familiarize your child with the following Halloween child safety tips to ensure a fun and safe Halloween!

Halloween Safety Measures and Tips for Children

1) Safe Trick-or-Treating

* Always go trick-or-treating as a group, preferably accompanied by an adult. Always try and stick to the group.

* Go Trick-or-Treating only at areas which are familiar to you
* Stick to well-lit roads and familiar houses, avoid desolate and dark areas
* Even if you wander off from your group, try to remain alert. Knowing some kind of a self defense would come to your help if you are met with an emergency.
* It is better not to go trick-or-treating late at night. Even if you do, always keep a flashlight with you
* If strangers offer you a ride, do not accept it

2) Eating Your Treats
* Try not to accept treats from strangers or suspicious people as much as possible.
* Since the most common method of Halloween crimes are doped candies, at least wait till you reach home before you eat candies offered by strangers.
* Make sure that younger children do not lay hands on big candies to avoid incidents of choking

3) Costume Safety Tips
* Do not include damage-causing accessories to the costumes. Especially in the case of younger children, it is better to avoid dangerous costumes that involve knives, swords and fire
* Test the skin make-up before you wear it for a long time. Remove it completely before you go to sleep.
* Parents may choose costumes that are made of material that is not easily inflammable

4) Road-Safety Tips
* Wear bright costumes and colors so that drivers easily spot you and avoid accidents
* Avoid dark-colored costumes as much as possible
* Avoid costumes that blocks or distorts clear vision. This may include fancy contact lenses, improperly pierced masks and eye make-up
* Always walk through the sidewalks
* Watch carefully before you cross the streets, even when you are in a group


Dealing with a Danger: What to Do?
If suspicious-looking strangers approach you during trick-or-treating, try to handle the situation without panicking. If you have learnt some kind of a self-defense like Karate or Taekwondo, it would be helpful to you. You can use martial arts as a protective measure to escape from situations of emergency. There are institutions like Bruce McCorry's Academy (MA) that offer lessons in martial arts for self-defense. Even if you do not know any self-defense or martial arts, try to remain as alert as much as possible and try to take help from adults or other trick-or-treaters who might pass along. In the case of an accident, offer first-aid quickly and seek the help of an adult so that the injured person could be taken to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.


As parents, you can share these tips with your children. More important, however, is to make them aware of the possible dangers of Halloween and the importance of child safety. Enjoy a safe and fun Halloween!

Don't forget to visit  our Trunk-Or-Treat event Friday, Oct 31 at 5pm!