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Halloween Safety: Tricks in the Treats?

By Megan Roth

Yesterday I wrote about some of the super-uncool, yet incredibly well-thought out safety precautions my parents enforced each and every Halloween. Today, I’ll let you know about one safety precaution they didn’t enforce (but should have).

It seems like it becomes more and more emphasized each year: don’t consume any unwrapped or homemade treats (ha – not like I ever would! I’ve always been incredibly picky when it comes to candy and am just not down with such treats (I’d much rather eat two pounds of straight sugar in the form of skittles) - I’m a brat, I know).

But seriously, I always figured if a piece of candy was open, it probably came that way in the bag. And I reasoned that no one would take the time or even have a reason to tamper with a piece of candy? I mean, anyone who spent hours making their oh-so-fancy Halloween sugar cookies, peanut butter presses, and popcorn balls probably wasn’t interested in hurting innocent trick-or-treaters, right?

Evidently I was wrong. Now, I knew the dangers such treats risked in terms of food poisoning, allergic reactions, etc. But I was never fully aware of the reasoning behind this safety precaution. In fact, until a couple of days ago when I started researching the topic, I’d never even heard about previous cases of razor blades, needles, screws, and other harmful materials being found in such treats!

I was appalled to read such stories! I thought “no one in their right mind would ever even think to do that!” But evidently that’s just it – not everyone is in the ‘right mind’ (whatever that may be). Granted, the majority of such stories are either wholly or partially fabricated; details get stretched or created to make for a more interesting story. Unfortunately, however, those stories have to come from some form of reality, no matter how elaborated it may become.

Numerous safety and parenting organizations recognize this and recommend parents sort through their child’s candy supply before allowing them to eat anything as a means of ensuring all’s safe and in order.

Another recommendation many are making? The increasingly popular candy toss. I’m not going to lie – my parents didn’t do this either, but my roommate claims this was the first thing her and her sister had to do every year when they got home.

The candy toss is a way to limit the amount of candy your children consume without limiting their fun. Obviously, most kids aren’t going to consider this ‘fun’ – in fact, they’ll see right through it. But with the obesity epidemic that’s taking our school systems by storm, it’s important to maintain a sense of control, even during the holiday season. One way to do so is to give your kids a Tupperware when the get home from trick-or-treating and tell them to pick out their favorites from the candy they collected. Anything they can fit into the Tupperware (with the lid on tight!) is theirs to keep; the rest should be taken elsewhere (my roommates father always took it to work the next day and gave it to his coworkers; not exactly a healthy alternative, but at least it’s being consumed by multiple people rather than just one child…)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on October 29, 2008 (boomark / email).