Halloween Safety for Kids: 10 UC Davis Health Tips on Costumes, Crossing the Street and Decorations

Halloween safety for kids comes down to a few simple habits, and with trick-or-treating just days away, now is the time to review them. Safety experts at UC Davis Health have published 10 tips covering costumes, crossing the street and decorations. The advice, summarized from a UC Davis Health pediatrics release, is led by Jennifer Rubin, coordinator of the Safe Kids Greater Sacramento Coalition and injury prevention manager at UC Davis Health. This is general information, not medical advice.

Costume Safety Tips for Trick-or-Treaters

1. Follow age guidelines on packaging. Keep small magnets and button batteries away from young children, since battery-powered toy parts can be a choking risk.
2. Choose a well-fitting costume. Long, loose fabric can cause trips and falls. Consider face paint instead of a mask, which can block vision.
3. Skip non-prescription decorative contact lenses. The experts warn they can seriously damage eyes.

Street and Neighborhood Safety on Halloween Night

4. Review the rules before leaving. Kids should stay together, use crosswalks and corners, and make eye contact with drivers before crossing.
5. Be seen. Give children glow sticks or flashlights, add reflective tape to costumes or bags, and choose light colors. Avoid light-up toys with removable wires or bulbs, which are choking hazards.
6. Accompany children under 12 while trick-or-treating.

Decoration and Fire Safety at Home

7. Teach kids to stay away from open flames, including candles inside jack-o’-lanterns. Many families switch to battery-powered lights.
8. Keep decorations away from heat. Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper catch fire easily near bulbs, heaters or flames.
9. Don’t block exits. Keep decorations away from doors so escape routes stay clear.
10. Test your smoke alarms. Make sure all of them work before the party starts.

Why These Simple Steps Matter

Most Halloween injuries are preventable and come from ordinary hazards: trips over long costumes, drivers who cannot see children in dark clothing, and decorations placed too near a flame. Safety groups consistently stress visibility and supervision because they address the biggest risks at once. If your neighborhood has no sidewalks, consider a community event, a school party or a trunk-or-treat in a well-lit parking lot, which keeps children away from traffic. Talk through the plan with older kids too: agree on a route, a curfew and a check-in time, and make sure they carry a charged phone.

A Quick Halloween Night Checklist for Parents

Candy and Treat Tips After the Walk

Once the trick-or-treating is done, sort through the haul together at home. Throw away anything with torn, open or unwrapped packaging, and keep an eye out for small hard candies that can be choking hazards for toddlers. If a child has a food allergy, read every label again, because holiday-sized “fun size” versions can contain different ingredients than the full-size product. Setting a simple rule, such as a few pieces tonight and the rest saved for later, makes the sugar rush easier to manage and helps everyone sleep better.

More Halloween Help From Our Newsroom

For fright-related worries and burn and allergy safety, read our guide on helping a scared child and our summary of Johns Hopkins experts’ tips. Still choosing a costume? See the most popular costumes of 2026.

Halloween should be fun. A few minutes of preparation, bright costumes, working smoke alarms and an adult close by, goes a long way toward keeping it that way. If your child has food allergies or a medical condition, ask your pediatrician for personalized advice.

Source: UC Davis Health pediatrics, October 2026. The release paraphrases Jennifer Rubin’s advice and does not include direct quotes.