The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a great message about Halloween:

1. it is an exciting time of year for kids, and
2. you can help ensure your kids have a safe Halloween with some easy to follow tips about costume safety, pumpkin carving safety, and keeping your kids safe while trick-or-treating

Remember, you can be safe and still let your kids have fun. While most people think of Halloween as a time for fun and treats, keep in mind that roughly four times as many children aged 5 to 14 years of age are killed while walking on Halloween evening compared with other evenings of the year, and falls are a leading cause of injuries among children on Halloween.

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AAP - Halloween Safety Tips
CPSC - Halloween Costumes: What to Look For
CDC - Halloween the Healthy Way
Safety on Halloween

There is a sad article in The New York Times today that describes how "Silos Loom as Death Traps on American Farms."

People who follow child safety issues will be well aware that farm accidents and tragedies are not rare. That makes it even more unbelievable that the owner of one of the farms where an 18-year-old died in a corn silo stated that "he was unaware of the dangers of entrapment in cascading corn."

It is also tragic "how simple and inexpensive it is to avoid such tragedies." Hopefully articles like this will help raise awareness about these types of dangers, so that teens who work on farms can do so safely.

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Injuries on Farms are a Serious Problem for Kids
Farm Accidents and Tragedies
Farm Safety 4 Just Kids
Catherine Rylatt on Protecting Young Workers from Tragedy

What are you doing for Red Ribbon Week?

Red Ribbon Week has been held each year since 1988 to "mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities," and also to honor Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena, who was tortured and killed in Mexico in 1985.

Red Ribbon Week is a great time to take the Red Ribbon Pledge to set guidelines to help children grow up safe, healthy and drug-free.

This year, you also can win $1,000 for your school and an iPad for your home in the National Red Ribbon Week Photo Contest, which is cosponsored by the DEA and the National Family Partnership. According to NFP's Volunteer President Peggy Sapp, "Students will once again take Red Ribbon Week's message of prevention home to their neighborhoods with this national contest."

Red Ribbon Week also provides us all a reminder to talk to our kids about drugs. According to the National Family Partnership, "Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don't, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations."

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Teen Issues and Challenges
Drug Testing and Drug Screening
Teenagers

In this week's Saturday Safety Roundup, stories of:

• a 10-year-old in Miffllinburg, Pennsylvania who died in a garden tractor rollover accident.
• a 2-year-old in San Antonio, Texas who died after getting run over by his mother as she drove down their driveway in a pickup truck. The child had ran from his aunt to chase after his mother.
• a 16-year-old in Catalina Foothills, Arizona who was seriously injured and in critical condition after falling out of the bed of a moving pickup truck.
• a 11-year-old in Tupelo, Mississippi who died when a column of concrete blocks fell and crushed him as he played outside a restaurant where his mother worked.
• a 14-year-old in Salt Lake City, Utah who was killed when he was hit by a utility truck making a left turn while he was crossing the street in a crosswalk on the way to school.
• an 8-year-old in Rochester, Pennsylvania who is in critical condition after being shot by her cousin who thought she was a skunk, as she was wearing a black and white Halloween costume and was outside playing hide-and-seek.
• a 3-year-old in Sunnyside, Washington who is in critical condition after shooting herself in the face with his father's hand gun that he found inside his pickup truck.
• a 15-month-old in Brevard County, Florida who drowned in a small, decorative pond that was less than 6 inches deep in front of his house.
• a 2-year-old in Montgomery, Alabama who drowned in a backyard swimming pool.
• a 7-year-old in Hamilton, Alabama who died when the ATV he was riding on collided with an SUV.
• a 14-month-old in Ripley County, Ohio who died after he was run over by a pickup truck by a teen who was setting his phone down after texting someone. The toddler had been playing in the yard with his siblings just before wandering into the roadway.
• a 19-month-old in Madera County, California who died when her mother backed over her in her SUV as she was going to the store, thinking the toddler was still inside with family members.

Keep your kids safe. Not all, but many of these types of accidents can be prevented.

Many of the accidents and tragedies are ones that we see week after week, especially drownings,falls, ATV accidents, accidental shootings, and even lawn mower accidents.

Spread the word about child safety to help save lives and reduce these types of accidents and tragedies.

Related:
Layers of Protection - Child Safety Tips
Helmets
Safety Tips
Rear View Camera - Back Over SUV Prevention
Strangulation Hazards - Hidden Dangers