October 25, 2025 • 6 mins
Along with the eerie and the spooky, there are real life safety issues as children's trick or treating coincides with adults going to costume parties and high school football games. We get some Halloween 2025 safety tips from Dr. Patrick Mularoni at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here beyond the News. Halloween is coming up
October thirty first. It's on a Friday this year, and
that always brings up some questions about safety for trick
or treaters and anybody else who's out there. Doctor Patrick
mulroney with JOHNS Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Saint Petersburg,
he's a pediatric emergency physician there, and he joins us
now I'm beyond the news, Doctor Marlarney.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome, hello Gordon, and happy Halloween.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
And it is on a Friday this year, as we mentioned,
it's October thirty first, And is it any is there
any greater concern about safety when you're going into the
weekend with an event like Halloween.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Oh yeah, I know. This definitely concerns me. You know,
I think about Halloween when I was a child, and
you know, I've reached fifty now, and it was mainly
a child holiday, right and now it's become a holiday
for all ages. Many people are having parties, get togethers
with friends, and often those get togethers for adults happen
(00:57):
on the weekend before or after Halloween. But this year
it seems that many of those parties are going to
be able to happen actually on Halloween, so we're going
to be crossing two demographics here. We're going to have
families with young kids who are out, you know, attempting
to trick or treat, while we have other people who
are using those same roads to get to parties or
other events. Plus the fact that it's on a Friday.
(01:19):
Friday night football does not stop, so a lot of
our high school athletes are going to be going to
Friday night football games again using those same roadways.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And you know, that's a great point because you know,
daylight saving Time used to end in October. Now it
ends in early November. In fact, it ends I think
the day after Halloween, and the change that end date
so that presumably the children would do more of their
trick or treating walking through neighborhoods in daylight. But it
sale has always seemed to me that everything just shifted
an hour later, because you know, I think there's probably
(01:50):
some appeal to children and parents who don't normally get
out in the dark that you know, you're out wearing
a costume in the dark. But of course that all
plays back into the safety.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Issue, right right, And you know, and and I think
that double down on that that it's on a Friday night,
so a lot of families don't have to work the
next day. A lot of parents don't have to work
the next day, so they're going to be out later.
So you know, it is it is a little bit
of an unwritten rule that the kids that are going
out trick or treating on their own are waiting till
the sun is set before they go out. And as
(02:21):
a driver you need to be very careful. And the
one thing that I would I would say is that
if you know any teen drivers or young drivers that
are going to be driving on that night, please sit
down with them and talk about the You know that
this is a different day when you're in a neighborhood,
when you're near houses, you need to be driving well
under the speed limit because these kids are going to
be darting in and out of the street trying to
(02:42):
get to as many houses as they can to get
a big bag of candy.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And that brings up, of course, the talking about the
safety issue. Of course, many parents have already chosen the
costumes for their young trick or treaters, and what can
they do at this point to make things a little
more visible and to make things a little bit safer.
Maybe is reflective tape. What are some ideas as far
as keeping keeping the kids safe on those neighborhood streets, right?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I agree? I think all kids should be lit in
some capacity, so you can throw a flashlight into the
into the bag that they're carrying, or you know, glow
sticks or glow necklaces. Although they might not go with
their costume, asking all the kids to wear a glow
glow braceletter or tie a glow sticker on their neck
might be a good idea to allow them to be
(03:32):
self illuminated so that they're easier to be seen. Obviously,
reflective tape can help as well. But you know, when
we think about Halloween, so many of the costumes that
children think are the best are really black clothing or
dark clothing, So trying to light that up somehow. As
a parent going out with children, you know you're going
to be close to your children, carry a flashlight so
that you can signal an oncoming car that you're there.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And of course we don't hear so much about it
as much as we have in previous years, but there's
always the concern about food safety candy safety, treat safety,
and that plays into maybe not so much the concerns
that we're there in the past about stranger danger and
what you might find in your treat bag, but particularly
(04:16):
in terms of children with allergies, you have things like
the Teal Pumpkin movement to help children with allergies and sensitivities.
What are some general tips that are useful about food
safety and treat safety.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Well, I think that you know, the first thing is
if you're taking around young children and they're collecting candy,
you know, a five year old or a four year old,
they're obviously going to want to eat the candy. And
we don't want children to be eating candy that they've
collected while they're out trick or treating. So a good
rule of thumb for a parent is to bring some
candy with you so that when you know when and
(04:50):
if they need a piece of candy or really bothering
you for a piece of candy, give them a piece
of candy out of your pocket or out of your
own bag, you know, something that you brought from home,
and then remind the children that when we get home,
we're going to take all the candy, spread it out
and we're going to look at it, making sure that
no packages are opened or everything looks looks okay, and
then making sure that those those items are things that
(05:12):
you want your child to have. I think that that's
that's the best idea. You know, you do hear these
stories about somebody tampering with candy, and those stories are
very few and far between, thank goodness. But a good
rule of thumb is to trick or treat an area
that you know. And obviously you know if you're only
going to go to ten or fifteen houses, go to
ten or fifteen houses of people that you know, and
you can decrease that risk. But the best thing to
(05:33):
do is just inspect that candy when they get home
and have that conversation before you go out that this
is what you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Doctor Patrick mulroney, Johns Hopkins Old Children's Hospital. We've covered
a lot of ground. Anything else you'd like to throw
in as far as Halloween safety.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I think that if you're I would just say that
if you're a family that's going to be giving out candy,
make sure the children have a clear path. If you
have any sticks in the way or any loose bricks.
Have those things tidied up, because you know a lot
of these kids can't see as well with their masks
on or with their large capes, and they need a
safe way to get to your front door, to get
to your drive where you might be handing out candy.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
All good information. Doctor Patrick mulroney, a pediatric emergency physician
at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Saint Petersburg, thank
you very much for joining us on beyond the News.
Gordon Bird here beyond the News. Halloween is coming up
October thirty first. It's on a Friday this year, and
that always brings up some questions about safety for trick
or treaters and anybody else who's out there. Doctor Patrick
mulroney with JOHNS Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Saint Petersburg,
he's a pediatric emergency physician there, and he joins us
now I'm beyond the news, Doctor Marlarney.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome, hello Gordon, and happy Halloween.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
And it is on a Friday this year, as we mentioned,
it's October thirty first, And is it any is there
any greater concern about safety when you're going into the
weekend with an event like Halloween.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Oh yeah, I know. This definitely concerns me. You know,
I think about Halloween when I was a child, and
you know, I've reached fifty now, and it was mainly
a child holiday, right and now it's become a holiday
for all ages. Many people are having parties, get togethers
with friends, and often those get togethers for adults happen
(00:57):
on the weekend before or after Halloween. But this year
it seems that many of those parties are going to
be able to happen actually on Halloween, so we're going
to be crossing two demographics here. We're going to have
families with young kids who are out, you know, attempting
to trick or treat, while we have other people who
are using those same roads to get to parties or
other events. Plus the fact that it's on a Friday.
(01:19):
Friday night football does not stop, so a lot of
our high school athletes are going to be going to
Friday night football games again using those same roadways.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And you know, that's a great point because you know,
daylight saving Time used to end in October. Now it
ends in early November. In fact, it ends I think
the day after Halloween, and the change that end date
so that presumably the children would do more of their
trick or treating walking through neighborhoods in daylight. But it
sale has always seemed to me that everything just shifted
an hour later, because you know, I think there's probably
(01:50):
some appeal to children and parents who don't normally get
out in the dark that you know, you're out wearing
a costume in the dark. But of course that all
plays back into the safety.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Issue, right right, And you know, and and I think
that double down on that that it's on a Friday night,
so a lot of families don't have to work the
next day. A lot of parents don't have to work
the next day, so they're going to be out later.
So you know, it is it is a little bit
of an unwritten rule that the kids that are going
out trick or treating on their own are waiting till
the sun is set before they go out. And as
(02:21):
a driver you need to be very careful. And the
one thing that I would I would say is that
if you know any teen drivers or young drivers that
are going to be driving on that night, please sit
down with them and talk about the You know that
this is a different day when you're in a neighborhood,
when you're near houses, you need to be driving well
under the speed limit because these kids are going to
be darting in and out of the street trying to
(02:42):
get to as many houses as they can to get
a big bag of candy.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And that brings up, of course, the talking about the
safety issue. Of course, many parents have already chosen the
costumes for their young trick or treaters, and what can
they do at this point to make things a little
more visible and to make things a little bit safer.
Maybe is reflective tape. What are some ideas as far
as keeping keeping the kids safe on those neighborhood streets, right?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I agree? I think all kids should be lit in
some capacity, so you can throw a flashlight into the
into the bag that they're carrying, or you know, glow
sticks or glow necklaces. Although they might not go with
their costume, asking all the kids to wear a glow
glow braceletter or tie a glow sticker on their neck
might be a good idea to allow them to be
(03:32):
self illuminated so that they're easier to be seen. Obviously,
reflective tape can help as well. But you know, when
we think about Halloween, so many of the costumes that
children think are the best are really black clothing or
dark clothing, So trying to light that up somehow. As
a parent going out with children, you know you're going
to be close to your children, carry a flashlight so
that you can signal an oncoming car that you're there.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And of course we don't hear so much about it
as much as we have in previous years, but there's
always the concern about food safety candy safety, treat safety,
and that plays into maybe not so much the concerns
that we're there in the past about stranger danger and
what you might find in your treat bag, but particularly
(04:16):
in terms of children with allergies, you have things like
the Teal Pumpkin movement to help children with allergies and sensitivities.
What are some general tips that are useful about food
safety and treat safety.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Well, I think that you know, the first thing is
if you're taking around young children and they're collecting candy,
you know, a five year old or a four year old,
they're obviously going to want to eat the candy. And
we don't want children to be eating candy that they've
collected while they're out trick or treating. So a good
rule of thumb for a parent is to bring some
candy with you so that when you know when and
(04:50):
if they need a piece of candy or really bothering
you for a piece of candy, give them a piece
of candy out of your pocket or out of your
own bag, you know, something that you brought from home,
and then remind the children that when we get home,
we're going to take all the candy, spread it out
and we're going to look at it, making sure that
no packages are opened or everything looks looks okay, and
then making sure that those those items are things that
(05:12):
you want your child to have. I think that that's
that's the best idea. You know, you do hear these
stories about somebody tampering with candy, and those stories are
very few and far between, thank goodness. But a good
rule of thumb is to trick or treat an area
that you know. And obviously you know if you're only
going to go to ten or fifteen houses, go to
ten or fifteen houses of people that you know, and
you can decrease that risk. But the best thing to
(05:33):
do is just inspect that candy when they get home
and have that conversation before you go out that this
is what you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Doctor Patrick mulroney, Johns Hopkins Old Children's Hospital. We've covered
a lot of ground. Anything else you'd like to throw
in as far as Halloween safety.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I think that if you're I would just say that
if you're a family that's going to be giving out candy,
make sure the children have a clear path. If you
have any sticks in the way or any loose bricks.
Have those things tidied up, because you know a lot
of these kids can't see as well with their masks
on or with their large capes, and they need a
safe way to get to your front door, to get
to your drive where you might be handing out candy.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
All good information. Doctor Patrick mulroney, a pediatric emergency physician
at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Saint Petersburg, thank
you very much for joining us on beyond the News.
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