How do I keep my child safe on Halloween

"A poisoned treat may top your worry list, but such cases are actually very uncommon. On the other hand, you child is four times more likely to be fatally injured by a motor vehicle on Halloween than any other day of the year," says Jeffrey Reynolds, MD, who specializes in family practice at Baptist Medical Associates.

To keep your children safe, Dr. Reynolds offers the following tips:

• Accompany young children (under age 10) on their rounds. For older kids who are trick-or-treating on their own, make sure you approve of the route they’ll be taking and know when they’ll be coming home. Also be sure that they carry a cell phone, go in a group and stay together and only go to houses with porch lights on and walk on sidewalks.
• Remind children to cross the street at crosswalks and never assume that vehicles will stop.
• Make sure your child’s costume is bright or has reflective tape on it.
• Give kids flashlights with new batteries.
• When your kids get home, check all treats to make sure they’re safely sealed and there are no signs of tampering, such as small pinholes, loose or torn packages and packages that appear to have been taped or glued back together.
• Don’t allow young children to have hard candy or gum that could cause choking.
• Make sure trick-or-treaters will be safe when visiting your home, too. Remove lawn decorations, sprinklers, toys, bicycles, wet leaves or anything that might obstruct your walkway.

Provide a well-lit outside entrance to your home. Keep family pets away from trick-or-treaters, even if they seem harmless to you.