PKSD Newsletter: Child Safety at Halloween and Beyond

Halloween has always been a fun time of year for children who cannot wait for an excuse to put on a costume. Whether driving your trick-or-treaters around or staying closer to home, we have some useful guidelines to help keep your children from harm on Halloween and throughout the year.

Check out this month’s PKSD Newsletter, which is full of updated trick-or-treating guidelines and other important safety tips.

PKSD is ready to help. Ph: 414-333-3333

Trick-or-Treating Safety Guidelines

Children everywhere may be especially excited about Halloween this year after the disruption of so many activities during the pandemic. Whether you are a new trick-or-treating parent or a seasoned pro, checking out the latest safety recommendations is a great way to prepare for the festivities.

Check out this month’s PKSD Newsletter: You Should Know for tips to help you with your spook night planning, including:

• Visibility: Attach reflective tape or glow sticks to costumes to help ensure your Halloween tricksters can be easily seen by passing vehicles or bicycles. Carrying a flashlight is another good idea and can help trick-or-treaters to see their way better.
• Costume fit: Check the fit of your child’s costume to help prevent tripping. The use of face paint instead of masks also helps increase safety, as your child will be able to see and breathe better.
• Crossing streets: Take care to cross at corners and use designated crossing areas, and always check for oncoming traffic, even if you have the right of way.

Common Child Seat Installation and Usage Errors

Whether driving children out for a long night of Halloween festivities or a quick trip to the grocery store, buckling up is important for everyone’s safety. Car seats, when used properly, reduce the risk of injury during a collision by 71 to 82 percent for infants and young children. For children ages four to eight, the use of a booster seat reduces their risk of injury by as much as 45 percent. Even older children who wear a seat belt minimize their risk of injury in a crash by half.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that most parents use child safety seats, there is often confusion about what type of car seat to get, especially as children get older. Another safety issue is that many car and booster seats are not installed or used correctly. Misuse of a child safety seat reduces its effectiveness and can put your child at risk for a serious injury.

These are a few of the common mistakes often made when installing a child seat:

• Seat is too loose: In a collision or sudden stop, a car seat that is too loose could cause your little one’s face to crash into the front seat. This could result in severe head, neck or facial injuries. Install a backward-facing seat in the vehicle before placing your child in it. Place your weight on the seat and tighten the belt as much as possible. If the seat is forward-facing, use the top tether to further secure the seat.
• Harness is too loose: A child can easily slip out of a harness that is too loose and be ejected from the vehicle. To prevent this, buckle your child into the seat, making sure the chest clip is in place. Then pinch the harness at the shoulder. You should not be able to pinch any excess webbing.
• Forward-facing an infant too soon: Infants should remain in a rear-facing car seat as long as possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until your child reaches the minimum height and weight for a forward-facing child safety seat, which is typically around age two years.

There are more details about these safety tips in this month’s newsletter, along with our downloadable free car seat checkup list.

All car safety seats are a little different. If you are in the market for one now, be sure to research carefully for one that will best meet your child’s needs. Once you make your purchase, read the manual to familiarize yourself with how the car seat works and the manufacturer’s recommendation for proper use.

Need Legal Help You Can Trust? Call PKSD Today

If you or a loved one suffered a personal injury due to another’s negligence, you may be eligible to seek compensation for the damages. Find out if you have legal options at no cost or risk to you.

Call the law offices at PKSD 24/7 to schedule your free case review. Our personal injury lawyers in Milwaukee have extensive experience, and we are dedicated to helping our clients. If we represent you, we will work tirelessly to recover the maximum available compensation on your behalf.

Call our trusted law firm to learn more. FREE case review. Ph: 414-333-3333