Mark your calendar for a busy weekend. Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, and daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, when clocks go back an hour. (Hawaii and most of Arizona don't change their clocks.)
For adults, that means an extra hour of sleep. For toddlers and preschoolers, it means a late, exciting, sugary night followed by a morning their bodies think is an hour later than the clock says. A little planning in the next ten days makes both go more smoothly.
Before the night: costumes
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a short list that is worth following:
- Fit matters. Costumes and shoes should fit well, and hems should be short enough that children don't trip.
- Face paint over masks. Masks can block a child's view. Non-toxic makeup or a hat that stays put is safer. Test makeup on a small patch of skin a few days ahead.
- Look for "flame resistant" on the label, including wigs and accessories.
- Be bright. Choose light colors, and add reflective tape or glow sticks to costumes and treat bags.
- Skip the props with points. Swords, wands and sticks should be short and soft, if they come along at all.
- No decorative contact lenses without an eye exam and a prescription. They can cause serious eye damage.
On the street
The AAP's most sobering note is this one: child pedestrian injuries are more likely on Halloween than on any other night. For young children, the rules are simple:
- Always go with them. Preschoolers can't be expected to judge traffic, especially when they are excited and wearing a costume.
- Go early if you can. Daytime events at schools, libraries and community centers are often a better fit for the youngest children.
- Cross at corners and crosswalks, never between parked cars, and don't assume drivers can see you.
- Use sidewalks. Where there aren't any, walk at the far edge of the road, facing traffic.
- Only visit homes with a porch light on.
Candy and little kids
Most Halloween candy was not designed with a two-year-old in mind.
- Sort everything at home, not on the sidewalk. Throw away anything unwrapped, torn, spoiled or suspicious. A good meal before you go out makes it easier to wait.
- Watch for choking hazards. The AAP says babies and toddlers should avoid hard candies, caramel apples, popcorn, gum, small candies, gummy candy, pumpkin seeds and whole nuts. Wrappers, stickers, small toys and temporary tattoos can be choking hazards too.
- If your child has food allergies, carry their emergency medicine and make sure every adult with you knows how to use it. Read labels carefully: fun-size candy can have different ingredients than the full-size version.
- Look for teal pumpkins. A teal pumpkin on a porch is a sign that the house is offering non-food treats like stickers, bubbles or glow sticks, part of a national effort to include children with food allergies. Handing out non-food treats yourself is an easy way to join in.
- Ration the haul. Agree on a plan together, like a piece or two after dinner, and spread it over the following days and weeks.
Pumpkins
Let small children decorate pumpkins with markers or stickers and scoop out the seeds. Adults should do any carving. Use a battery-powered candle or flashlight inside instead of a real flame, and keep lit pumpkins away from steps and paths where costumes brush past.
The clock change
Children's internal clocks don't fall back just because the kitchen clock does. After the change, a child who usually wakes at 6:30 will often wake at what the clock now calls 5:30. A few things help:
- Shift bedtime a little later this week. Moving bedtime and wake-up by about 15 minutes every night or two in the days before the change spreads the adjustment out, much like the back-to-school sleep reset in August.
- Let Halloween help. A somewhat later bedtime on Saturday works in the same direction as the clock change. Just keep it within reason, and expect the excitement and the sugar to make settling down harder.
- Keep the morning dark and the day bright. Room-darkening shades help with early waking. Getting outside in the morning light on Sunday and Monday helps reset the body clock.
- Move meals and naps to the new clock right away, and keep the bedtime routine exactly the same.
- Give it a week. Many young children settle into the new schedule within a few days to a week. Expect some crankiness in the meantime, from them and from you.
One more thing for the season
Halloween parties and family visits are also a good reminder of the fall respiratory season. If your child is getting a flu shot for the first time, remember that children under nine need two doses about four weeks apart, so it is worth starting now.
Have a safe, happy, and only slightly sticky Halloween.
