Baby Safe Halloween Tips

I remember the special memories I have as a new parent, dressing my baby in a cute costume for Halloween. It’s one of my favorite seasons and it can be a fun holiday for families, but here are some safety tips to keep in mind so everyone can enjoy trick or treats.

Baby Safe Halloween Tips

Costumes

It’s beyond tempting to want to dress baby in an adorable costume and can provide excellent pictures to torture your kids for many years to come. Just keep these costume safety tips in mind:

• Avoid masks. Kids shouldn’t wear masks because it can obstruct their view and make it difficult to see around them. Babies shouldn’t have anything covering any part of their face, especially if they don’t yet have the dexterity to pull something off their face.
• Choose a properly fitted costume. I’m a queen of consignment or borrowing clothing for a one-time event such as Halloween, but a baby costume should not be oversized or bulky. It would be difficult to see if their little hands or feet were caught up inside the costume or if a thread got wrapped around one of their little extremities.
• Choose a lightweight costume even in colder areas. You can always layer, but you don’t want to be stuck putting baby in a warm fleece or padded costume with unexpectedly warm temperatures. Keeping the option of layering clothes means you can avoid overheating baby.
• Check costumes. As you would check clothing for tears, check costumes for rough areas that may scratch or loose labels or threads.

Halloween at Home

Halloween can be fun and full of spirit, especially if you like to decorate. Keep the same diligence with babyproofing as you do all year and remember these home safety tips:

• Put away sharp objects/decorations. If you carve pumpkins, remember to keep away knives and carving tools up and out of reach of baby.
• Avoid candles or hanging lights. Skip candles to avoid a fire hazard and make sure any light strands are hung high so baby can’t pull on them or get tangled.
• Keep candy away. Keep the candy bowl for trick-or-treaters up and away from the front door to prevent any choking hazards. 
• Check your floors. Check the floor for any individual pieces of candy or wrappers that could accidentally be picked up and put in baby’s mouth.
• Stay with baby. Never leave baby near the door or unattended even in an infant seat.
• No glow sticks. It sounds silly, but never give a glow stick to a baby. I’ve seen a teething baby bite right through a glow stick and had glow goo oozing inside their mouth. You also don’t want them to stick it in their ear, too far back in their mouth, or up their nose.

Trick-or-Treating

Trick-or-treating can be a polarizing topic amongst parents, but regardless of where you stand on the spectrum, we want you and your baby to be safe if you do decide to go on the candy hunt this Halloween: