Mercy Health offers safety tips for trick-or-treaters

TOLEDO — Mercy Health has provided some tips for keeping trick-or-treating safe, heavy on the "treats" and light on the "tricks." "Children should not trick-or-treat far from home and especially not alone," Nicole Knepper of Mercy Health Trauma Injury Prevention is quoted saying in a release from Mercy Health. "Please trick-or-treat in groups and stay together. "Make sure a responsible adult stays with your child while out and about," she is quoted saying in the release. Mercy Health relayed these tips about costume safety: • Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. • Choose face paint and makeup whenever possible instead of masks, which can obstruct a child's vision. • Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers. • When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls. Mercy Health gave these bits of advice regarding walking safety during trick-or-treat: • Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks, and be sure to look both left and right when crossing and keep looking as you cross. • Put electronic devices down, keep heads up and walk, don't run, across the street. • Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them. • Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should try to walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings. • Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars. Mercy Health also advised parents and the community about driver safety during the Halloween season: • Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. • Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs. • Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully. • Get rid of any distractions in your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings. • Turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances. Tiffin Trick-or-Treat is to take place 6-8 p.m. Sunday.