Hey everyone, it’s Medicine Mondays again. Just a short post to remind everyone about “Halloween Safety” for this Thursday.

Halloween Safety?

Yea.

I think things have changed somewhat since I was a kid. Maybe I’m just an old man, but I feel like back then everyone kind of knew each other and had an idea of where everyone lived. I also feel like things were slower back then as well and people were just less distracted in general. For example, there were no smartphones, texting and driving, or self-driving cars. Additionally, for the most part, the little kids could only trick-or-treat so far from their own home and only really went to houses of neighbors close to them. It’s a new world out there, so let’s be safe out there.

Here are some safety tips from safekids.org:

It’s kind of an expansive list, but I think the most important things to remember are:

• drive more slowly than normal, especially between 5-9pm
• kids should use an LED light, glowstick, or flashlight for visibility

Then after all the trick-or-treating is done:

Check your child’s candy

Don’t let your children eat any candy until you get home and can check it under good lighting.

Throw away any candy that is not in its original wrapper, or looks as though it has been opened. 

If your child or someone in the house has a nut allergy, make sure to remove any candy with nuts or peanut butter in it.

Off the top of my head, the most common ones would be Reese’s (peanut butter cups, pieces, etc.), peanut butter M&M’s, Butterfinger, Snickers, and Almond Joy. There are also a lot of candies that are “made in a facility that also processes almonds and peanuts”. So be aware of that too.

Alternatively, I think some parents let their children with allergies trick or treat like normal, for the experience, but then just replace all of the candy.

After a quick search I found this article:

2019 Allergy-Friendly Halloween Candy Guide

Using this guide I think you can come up with a great replacement bag for your child who has allergies, but still let them experience the fun of trick-or-treating.

TL;DR

Be safe this Halloween.

-Sensei

Agree? Disagree? Questions, Comments and Suggestions are welcome.

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