Tips for Staying Safe this Halloween

Halloween can be a fun time for kids and adults alike—as long as you stay safe.

Around Mountain View, popular trick-or-treating spots include the businesses Castro Street, the in Old Mountain View, in Shady Springs–near Mountain View High School–the the neighborhood around Bubb school and St. Francis Acres.

Both the and want everyone to be careful. Here are their top tips:

Tips for choosing the right costumes

• Purchase costumes made of flame-retardant material (check the label).

• Keep hemlines short enough to prevent tripping, and avoid loose, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts.

• To be seen easily, costumes should be made of a light-colored material.

• Use glow-in-the-dark reflective tape on your costume.

• Use make-up rather than masks, which can obstruct vision.

Tips for Halloween night:

• Use battery-powered lights. Never use candles to light jack-o'-lanterns.

• Instruct children to stay away from open flames.

• Remove objects from the yard that present a hazard to children (garden tools, hoses, etc.).

• Be extremely careful with cornstalks and other harvest season items. Keep them away from sources of heat. Don't let them block doorways or stairs.

• Do not allow children to carry sharp sticks or other objects that could cause injury to others.

• If you are driving on Halloween, take care to watch out for trick-or-treaters who will be too busy to watch out for you.

• Cross only at intersections or crosswalks - NEVER cross behind vehicles.
• Plan your trick-or-treat route beforehand.
• Closely inspect all candy before allowing children to eat it. Discard any unwrapped treats from a stranger. If in doubt, throw it out!

• Tell children to stay away from open flames. Be sure they know how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire. (Have them practice, stopping immediately, dropping to the ground, covering their face with hands and rolling over and over to put the flames out.)

Parents and children should take all these into consideration so they have a safe, fun and spooky Halloween night.

On behalf of everyone here at Mountain View Patch, Happy Halloween, everyone!