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    • Experts warn trick-or-treaters about cars and allergies
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    Experts warn trick-or-treaters about cars and allergies

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    As Halloween approaches, suggestions often circulate advising parents to go through their children’s clothing. halloween candynot for a tasty candy center, but for potentially unsafe objects, such as razor blades.

    But this year, experts urge parents and caregivers to be aware of other more common Halloween dangers, such as vehicle traffic and food allergies.

    On average, children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car while trick-or-treating than any other day. Safe children around the worldreports an international nonprofit organization dedicated to child safety.

    Here’s what adults and kids should know before trick-or-treating on Thursday.

    Stay safe when the sun goes down

    To help keep children safe from traffic incidents while traveling the streets on Halloween night, Safe Kids Worldwide offers the following advice:

    • Bring glow sticks or flashlights; use reflective tapes/stickers on costumes and bags; and use light colors so drivers can see children.
    • Join kids 12 and under for trick-or-treating.
    • Remind children to cross streets at corners and crosswalks.
    • If you are driving on Halloween night, turn on your car lights early in the day to spot children further away and slow down in neighborhoods.

    He nonprofit She also advised parents to think about what types of face coverings their children wear, as masks can obstruct a child’s vision while walking.

    Avoid food allergies, on both sides

    Food allergies can also be dangerous during the Halloween season.

    He Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends parents who have children with allergies check candy labels to make sure no allergens are present. Parents should also never allow children to eat homemade baked goods they have received.

    In general, children should also never accept or eat items that are not commercially wrapped, FDA advises. If parents are concerned about possible tampering, they should look for unusual appearances on the packaging or discoloration, small holes, or tears in the packaging.

    In an effort to help children cope with food allergies, Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) created the Teal Pumpkin Project. The project encourages households to offer non-food items to trick-or-treaters to avoid allergens completely. FARE recommends items such as glow sticks, bubbles, bouncy balls, finger puppets, playing cards, stickers, and other Halloween toys such as non-food item options.

    Those who wish to participate must visit the Rate websitewhere they can add their address to the Teal Pumpkin project map and find resources on how to inform their neighbors.

    When did parents start being afraid of what’s in their kids’ Halloween candy?

    Instilling fear about dangerous items, such as razor blades and poisonin Halloween candy dates back to the 1960s.

    In October 1964, a New York woman was arrested for handing out ant poison and dog treats to trick-or-treaters, according to the History Channel. When questioned, the woman said she had just been joking and gave these items to children she believed were too old to trick-or-treat. Fortunately, no children were poisoned.

    Perhaps the most notable Halloween poisoning took place in October 1974, when a Texas man named Ronald O’Bryan handed out “cyanide-laced goblin sticks” to five trick-or-treaters, including his own son, according to the History Channel. Only O’Bryan’s son ate the candy and died shortly after.

    No one saw O’Bryan tie the leprechaun sticks, but investigators discovered that he had taken out life insurance policies on his children. He was convicted of murder and executed by lethal injection in 1984, according to the History Channel.

    Joel Best, a sociology professor at the University of Delaware, has studied these cases of dangerous objects placed in Halloween candy, which he calls “Halloween sadism,” for decades. In 1985, he co-authored “The knife in the apple: the social construction of urban legends.” an investigative article that largely examines the history of dangerous treats given to children on Halloween.

    Continuing his research on the topic, Rather Between 1959 and 2012, 85 incidents of “Halloween sadism” were reported in the United States, according to your website.

    A recent example occurred in 2015, when a boy in Ohio found a disposable razor blade in a Snickers candy bar he received while trick-or-treating, according to previous information. USA TODAY reports. Fortunately, the child and other people who were in the area were not injured.

    Greta Cross is a national trends reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Send an email to [email protected].

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