October 2021: Halloween Safety
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Halloween is just around the corner and many children have started picking out their costumes and dreaming of the sweets they’ll bring home. It's especially important to remember traffic safety rules, though, as Halloween is one of the most dangerous nights of the year for child pedestrians. To keep children of all ages safer on Halloween night, read through the tips below:
Only cross the street at crosswalks or where there is a traffic signal if possible. Remind children to look both ways (left, right, then left again) before crossing the road. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.
If your children have cell phones, they need to put them away, keep their heads up, and walk – not run – across the street.
Walk on sidewalks or paths whenever possible. If there aren’t sidewalks on the route, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
If trick-or-treating after dark, outfit your child’s costume with reflective tape or give them glow sticks to carry so that they are easier to see.
Because costume masks can make it difficult for your child to see properly, face paint or makeup can be a safer choice.
Join your children for the festivities if they are under 12 years old. Older children should be with a group and trick-or-treat along a route you’ve approved.
For more Halloween safety tips, check out these resources:
Alternatively, many families are getting creative and finding unique ways to get in the spooky spirit without going door-to-door. Luckily, there are plenty of ways that families can stay safe and have fun this Halloween while protecting against COVID-19.
Alternatives to Trick-or-Treating
Safe Sleep Toolkit Outreach Week Postponed
In working with our experts to refresh our safe sleep toolkit, we learned that a new report regarding safe sleep best practices and recommendations will be released this winter by the American Academy of Pediatrics. To ensure that our toolkit messaging aligns with the newest recommendations, we are postponing our toolkit release and outreach week until the report is made available. We will update you as soon as new outreach week dates are determined. If you have any questions about the toolkit or outreach week, please send us an email at info@preventchildinjury.org.
Member Spotlight
The Member Spotlight is a new addition to our monthly newsletter and is intended to introduce and promote the work of one of our members to the rest of the Prevent Child Injuryour membership.
Featured Member: The Pediatric Injury Prevention Program at Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt
The Pediatric Injury Prevention Program at Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is a nationally recognized program that focuses on teen driver safety, child passenger safety, and ATV safety. Through collaboration with community partners, injury prevention education, and innovative research, the Injury Prevention Program strives to reduce unintentional injuries and death among children and promote safe behaviors in their community. Follow them on Twitter, join their mailing list to receive their newsletter, and learn more about them on their website. Thank you for your outstanding work, VUMC Pediatric Injury Prevention team!
Take Action
Every month, we promote a new action that each family can take to keep their children safer. This month, we want every family to talk to their teen drivers about driving on Halloween. Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. While it’s best for inexperienced drivers to stay off the road on Halloween, if they must head out, remind them to: slow down and be alert in residential neighborhoods, enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully, and watch for children walking on roads, medians, and curbs.
Follow along every month for a new action for you to share with the families you serve.
Coming Up
On Our Twitter Calendar
Oct. 4 - 10: Fire Prevention Week; National Walk to School Day
Oct. 18 - 24: National Teen Driver Safety Week
Oct. 25 - 31: Halloween Safety
Events
Event: #SaferStorage Day of Action
Hosted by: T4CIP (Trainees for Child Injury Prevention)
Date/Time: October 27, 2021
T4CIP (Trainees for Child Injury Prevention) is leading the charge for a Day of Action on October 27, 2021 to promote safer storage of firearms. To participate:
Use #SaferStorage on social media to share messaging about safer ways to store firearms and about how families can ask adults if there are guns in the home when their children visit.
Join a webinar at 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET with Dr. Judy Schaecter, President-Elect of the American Board of Pediatrics and moderated by Dr. Lois Lee, author of the book Pediatric Firearm Injuries and Fatalities: The Clinician’s Guide to Policies and Approaches to Firearm Harm Prevention. Register for the webinar titled Why Ask? Speaking Up for Child Health here.
Join in on a Twitter chat using #SaferStorage at 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET.
Event: National Injury Prevention Day
Hosted by: Injury Free Coalition for Kids & Partners
Date/Time: November 18, 2021
On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the Injury Free Coalition for Kids and many of the country's leading injury and violence prevention organizations will join forces for the 2nd annual National Injury Prevention Day, a day designed to raise awareness about the burden of injury, violence, and a need for change. Here are some ideas regarding how you can get involved in National Injury Prevention Day:
Shine a Green Light. On Thursday, November 18, 2021, as the sun goes down across the nation, and a day of community outreach comes to a close, city landmarks will take on a new look. Trauma centers, businesses, bridges, government buildings, and neighborhood homes will shine a green light. Ask your institution to participate by shining a green light to raise awareness of this issue!
Plan or participate in a community event. Visit https://www.injuryfree.org/nationalinjurypreventionday to find out what events are happening in your neighborhood and how you can get involved.
Feature your work. Share your expertise and research with community and healthcare partners, your social networks, and among your friends and family.
Join the Twitter Chat. A one-hour Twitter chat will take place at 1pm EST on November 18th, discussing the urgent need to prevent injuries and how everyone can play a role. To join the conversation, follow @InjuryFreeKids and use the hashtag #BeInjuryFree. Topics to be discussed include injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes, drownings, poisonings, firearms, sleep-related infant suffocations, and other injuries often seen in emergency departments across the country.
For more information and ideas, visit https://www.injuryfree.org/nationalinjurypreventionday!