16 essential Halloween safety rules for your children

by Beth Burnett
KJRH-TV Tulsa, Oklahoma

Halloween just around the spooky corner, and our favorite little princesses, superheros, and monsters are ready for their yearly candy collecting. 

Parents, experts say now is the time to plan for a fun and safe Halloween.  We've put together 16 Halloween safety tips to help keep Halloween fun and spooky and safe for you and your children.  We'll survey safety advice for costumes, trick-or-treating and candy safety. 

Tips 1-4: Choosing the right costume

The first part of getting ready for Halloween is picking out a safe costume:

1.  Make sure the costumes are flame retardant so the little ones aren't in danger near burning jack-o-lanterns and other fire hazards.

2.  Keep costumes short to prevent trips, falls, and other bumps in the night.

3.  Try make-up instead of a mask.  Masks can not only be hot and uncomfortable, but they can obstruct a child's vision.  They need to be able to see clearly while walking up and down steps, and while crossing the street.

4.  Make sure children wear light or neon colors.  Adding reflective tape to any costume will help drivers see them as well.

As for Trick-or-treating itself, there are some ways to plan ahead to make sure everyone's safe.  Experts say familiar location is key.  Click CONTINUE for more safety advice.