HOUSTON – Halloween is a busy holiday, and parents have to be on high alert.
There are potential dangers in everything from making sure your kids are visible to cars to not coming in contact with an open flame.
Here's the checklist you should follow to make for a safer night of trick-or-treating:
Traffic Safety
Attach reflective tape to costumes
Make sure the group has flashlights
Or use glow sticks to be seen
Trip Hazards
Make sure long costumes don't drag
Shoes fit tight
“Cute little princess girl shoes - great for photos - not great for trick-or-treating,” said Kelsey-Seybold pediatrician Dr. Jessica Lanerie.
No Masks
Lanerie said masks eliminate peripheral vision and make it hard to see oncoming traffic.
She recommends face paint as the safest alternative. She said to test the paint on the child’s arm to make sure there’s no allergic reaction.
No Spooky Contacts
Nothing should go in a child's eye without a prescription from an eye doctor, specifically the spooky dress-up contacts that change the appearance of eye color.
“The way that they're packaged is not highly regulated so it could be introducing infection in the eye and allergic reaction to the material in them as well is a big concern and then also an abrasion or scratch in the eye from the material those are made of,” Lanerie warned.
Flame Resistant
Look for a label indicating the costume has a flame retardant.