“Children are so excited on [Halloween night] that they aren’t using their normal safety sense,” says Kerri Totly, a certified hand therapist at Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital.

Ah, hah! EQ! When our emotions are running high, we don’t think clearly. Safety “sense” means being able to access the neocortex – control central; or, as my Mother used to say, “using your head.”

Halloween is a time of ghostly spirits and high spirits. How can we stay safe, and keep our children safe? Here are some tips:

1. Halloween is more than one night.
There’s the preparation for Halloween, and then this is the beginning of the “season” where we’re all preoccupied, busier than usual, and more emotional. Preparing for the event is quite often when the accident occurs – trying to dress one child, so the other one slips away; carving the pumpkin, the kids fight, the knife slips. Plan ahead, and plan to have a safe Halloween.

2. Explain, explain.
We quite often are doing the right thing, but we forget to explain it to the child, so they can learn as well. We want to raise safety awareness. As you run around the house putting saucer under each tea light, explain to your child why you’re doing this. When you “stop, look and listen” at the street corner, explain why. Children don’t naturally make the loop, and are quite as likely to conclude, “When I’m with Mom, we stop here. Not when I’m with Tyler.”

3. Things that go bump in the night.
Go with your children, of course, if they’re about 12 or under. Caution your child about strangers and also, with the dog companions also in costume these days, that it’s best to stick with what you know. Even the more gentle of family pets can freak out with all the excitement (just like the kids do), and do something unpleasant.

4. Accidental falls is the number one cause of injuries on Halloween night. (National Safety Council)

Choose your child’s costume with this in mind. Hem up the hemlines for those ghosts, minks, and princesses.

5. Four times more children are killed in pedestrian/automobile accidents that night than on any other night of the year. (CDC)

The CDC suggests these factors about the children and the night make it a high risk: short stature, inability to react quickly enough to avoid a car or evaluate a potential traffic threat, lack of impulse control, and all the exciting distractions.

6. The luminous things we love – the jack-o-lantern and the luminaria are prime causes for injuries.

The ER will receive a number of cut and burn victims. Don’t let it be you or one of your children. It’s DST, and getting dark earlier. Provide flashlights for children.

7. The holiday syndrome.
There’s usually one in each family – more excitable, more intense. Combine this with more candy, more parties, less sleep, less nutritious, well-balanced meals, a costume not warm enough and the general “stress,” and guess who’s going to be sick the week after Halloween? Know your child. Tone it down for the “wild ones.”

8. Me Tarzan, you the Knight in Shining Armor, me hoisted on a petard.
One of my favorite Shakespeare sayings. Use YOUR sense when planning your child’s costume. With spirits running high, it’s just not smart to equip the Knight in Shining Armor with anything approaching a real sword. Kids can do enough damage to one another when not “armed.” Choose fire retardant costumes that allow the child free movement.

9. Family violence.
Watch your own stress levels, and control your consumption of alcohol.

10. Make sure the "treats" aren't "tricks."
The best policy these days is to inspect your child’s candy and remove anything even remotely suspect. Certainly anything not wrapped, or loosely-wrapped, or “homemade” by someone whom you do not know and trust.

Susan Dunn may be contacted at http://www.susandunn.cc sdunn@susandunn.cc. Click here to view more of their articles.
Susan Dunn, MA, Psychology, Emotional Intelligence Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc . Coaching, Internet courses and ebooks around emotional intelligence for career, relationships, transitions, resilience, personal and professional development. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for free ezine