TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— With Halloween approaching, Indiana State Police and the Vigo County Health Department want to make sure everyone has a safe and fun time this Halloween.
They suggest doing things like making sure kids walk from house to house and not run across the streets, look both ways before crossing the road and use a crosswalk if possible. If someone gets separated from the group they are in, ISP says it is best to stay where you are and find an adult to help you find your parent or guardian. Sgt. Matt Ames with ISP also says that parents should make sure their kids can see where they’re going as well as be seen at all times.
“Those individuals are going out and getting a glow stick or some type of reflective material for the costume,” Sgt. Ames said. “So that they can be seen the entire time. As you’re going from door to door, we want to encourage parents to talk to their children about lifting the mask up so therefore, they can see the roadway or the sidewalks the entire time, so they’re not tripping or falling, and then they have now ruined their evening on collecting their candy out there.”
Both ISP and the Vigo Co. Health Department wants to encourage continued communication between parents and trick-or-treaters.
“Talk to your trick-or-treaters before you get ready to go, that hey if you get separated from the group, stay right where you’re at and look for an adult and ask for help,” Sgt. Ames said.
“If you’re not trick or treating with parents, just check in with your parents or a guardian every once in a while,” Public Health Educator at the Vigo Co. Health Department Shelby Jackson said. “Just to maintain that contact and that safeness.”
Jackson also encourages kids to stay hydrated as they are out and about trick-or-treating.
“Staying hydrated always is important whether it’s summertime or fall time,” Jackson said. “So make sure you’re drinking plenty of water before and as you’re preparing to go outside and walk around and collect all those Halloween trick-or-treats.”
When the kids come home from a night full of fun and candy, parents should make sure to check the candy before letting their children consume it by checking to see if it is tampered with or not and some candies, like KitKats, are easy to tell.
“They’re glued on the ends. You can see if that package has been tampered with or opened in any way, even if it’s been resealed, or someone has tried to reglue it and give it away like that,” Jackson said. “You can normally tell with products that are packaged like that if they have been tampered with, other products that are kind of proceed with caution are going to be the ones at the paper over them. They are wrapped on the ends like a tutorial pop or a lollipop. Just because you can unwrap that paper, tamper with the product and reapply that paper and wrap it back up. That’s going to be a little bit harder to detect if it’s been tampered with, so when in doubt, throw it out.”
ISP, as well as local law enforcement, will have extra patrols out to make sure everyone enjoys Halloween in a fun and safe manner.
