Be safe while trick-or-treating

MARENGO — As residents take their children door to door for treats in Marengo Oct. 30, Police Chief Ben Gray asks them to follow these safety tips.

1. Make sure pedestrians (children and adults) are wearing bright, visible clothing or reflective material so they can be seen by motor vehicles. Consider using flashlights for additional visibility.

2. Whenever possible, use sidewalks rather than walking in the road.

3. If no sidewalks are available, walk against traffic so you can see vehicles and avoid conflicts, and walk in single file so cars can still use the roadway.

4. Follow your child on foot and not in a vehicle. Roadways are already crowded, and vehicle traffic should be able to freely flow in the travel portions of the roadway. If you are waiting in your vehicle for your child to walk in a specific area, do not wait in the middle of the roadway.

5. Avoid pulling into driveways. Backing out of them is extremely dangerous with the increased amount of traffic.

Healthchildren.org offers tips for a healthy Halloween.

1. Consider offering non-edible goodies to trick-or-treaters. Halloween is one of the trickiest days of the year for children with food allergies. Even candies without the allergen can cause anaphylaxis if they were made in a facility that uses the allergen in another food. Non-edible treats include glow sticks, spider rings, vampire fangs, pencils, bubbles, bouncy balls, finger puppets, whistles, bookmarks, stickers and stencils.

2. Sort and check treats before eating them. Though tampering is rare, it can happen. Closely examine all treats and throw away spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items. Give your child a good meal before trick-or-treating to discourage sampling.

3. Keep an eye on what your children have in their mouths at all times while trick-or-treating. Babies and toddlers should not have hard candies, caramel apples, popcorn, gum, small candies such as jelly beans, gummy candy, pumpkin seeds or anything with whole nuts. Candy wrappers, stickers, small toys or temporary tattoos can be choking hazards.

4. Try to ration treats for the days and weeks after Halloween. Keep candy rules realistic, consistent and positive. Make a plan together so everyone knows what to expect.