Halloween should be spooky, not unsafe!

Oct. 24, 2025

By Mary Wade Burnside

Do you have a child dressing up as a K-Pop Demon Hunter or donning a pink dress or green body makeup to channel their inner Glinda and Elphaba?

Halloween is a great night for kids to express themselves while seeking out treats. But remember, the No. 1 rule to keep in mind is safety.

After all, Halloween should be spooky, not unsafe.

Costumes should be flame resistant and have bright and reflective features, either built-in or by adding strips of tape. Hats and other elements shouldn’t obscure a child’s view and if make-up is involved (think Elphaba’s green body paint), test it in advance by putting a small amount on the child’s arm.

And wearing decorative contact lenses can cause eye injuries, so definitely avoid those.

Costumes are just one element of staying secure this Halloween. Other considerations include pedestrian safety and avoiding any loot that could be dangerous.

That means watching both ways before crossing the street (and driving slowly during trick-or-treat hours), and also inspecting the goodies in the bright lights of home before they are consumed.

One way to avoid both scenarios is to attend a Trunk-or-Treat event. This year, Monongalia County Health Department hopes that its second Trunk-or-Treat will be even better attended than the inaugural one last year.

The event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30. A group of staffers will be dressed up (in safe costumes, of course) to hand out candy to our attendees. All are invited to join the party outside our main building at 453 Van Voorhis Road in Morgantown.

Of course, because we are the health department, we’re also going to advocate for ways to make the eating experience better for children.

One way is to have a nutritious snack before going trick-(or trunk)-or-treating. Obviously, hunger is going to make those fun-sized candy bars and small bags of Skittles an appealing method to power through the difficult activity of knocking on doors or going from car to car, holding out a bag or plastic pumpkin.

Parents who have children with nut or other food allergies are accustomed to reading product labels, but it never hurts to put out a reminder. Also, for those throwing parties or taking treats to a class, consider avoiding peanuts and peanut butter. Jason Nguyen, a nutritionist with MCHD Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) program, also suggests looking into the Teal Pumpkin Project. Teal plastic pumpkins containing non-food items are placed on a porch or doorstep or used to pass out fun little prizes.

For very young children, make sure to keep choking hazards such as gum, hard candy and small toys from the approved Halloween pile.

Finally, as Monongalia County Health Department is also home to MCHD Dentistry, of course we’re going to remind everyone that sweets are good in moderation and that there are ways to consume sugar to make it safer for your teeth. According to the American Dental Association:

• Eating sugary snacks during or right afterward a meal helps mitigate the effects of sugar on your teeth.
• Avoid sticky and sour candy as well as gummies that stay in your mouth (and on your teeth) for a long time. Also, sour candies are high in dietary acids that attack the hard, protective coating on the enamel of your teeth.

This is an instance in which, comparatively, chocolate is good for you, especially dark chocolate, which contains less cavity-causing sugar. And sugar-free gum is definitely preferable to the kind filled with sugar.

We hope everyone enjoys Halloween. And feel free to drop by Monongalia County Health Department’s Trunk-or-Treat, starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30.

Mary Wade Burnside is the public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department.