Preventing Foot Injuries On Halloween

It doesn’t take much to significantly reduce your risk of a foot or ankle injury on Halloween. Here’s what you’ll want to do.

1. Shoes Built For Walking – Normally, if you were planning on walking around the neighborhood, you’d make sure that you and your children were in a running shoe or similar-styled athletic shoe. However, on Halloween, some parents and children want their footwear to match their costume. Ballerina flats, high heels or football cleats will not support your feet while you’re walking up and down sidewalks and driveways, so leave those shoes at home. You can wear them for a picture before the night starts, but make sure that you swap them out for a comfortable and supportive shoe before you start walking around the neighborhood.

2. Stay On The Sidewalks – Yes, we know that you could probably hit more houses if you cut through lawns in a more direct path to the doorbell, but not only is that a little rude, it also greatly increases your risk of an ankle sprain or fracture. Grass and landscaping will have unique bumps and contours, and it can be difficult to see where you’re stepping when the sun begins to set. Stay on paved pathways so that you don’t accidentally roll an ankle on someone else’s landscape.

3. Stay Visible – The sun is setting earlier and earlier these days, and if you’re not easy to be seen, you may not be visible to a passing driver. All drivers need to be very aware of the situation tonight and go slow through neighborhoods, but you can help avoid serious injuries by making sure your child can be easily seen when crossing roads and crosswalks.

4. Keep Costumes Hemmed With Clear Sight Lines – Your child may look awesome in that homemade dinosaur costume or as a wizard from Harry Potter, but if they are struggling to see out of their costume or it’s dragging behind them because it’s too long, your child will be at risk for tripping and falling. Costumes are to blame for a number of Halloween injuries each year, so make sure that you kid can see and move freely in their costume before you unleash them on the neighborhood.

5. Stay In Well-Lit Areas – Finally, even when you’re walking on even ground, it helps to be able to see where you’re going. Stay in well-lit areas so that your child doesn’t trip or fall on a curb or a porch step.

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Tips For Protecting Your Child’s Feet This Halloween

You don’t need to take extraordinary measures to keep your child’s feet injury-free this Halloween, but you also shouldn’t completely ignore their feet when thinking about their costume and the evening. Here are some things you can do to protect their feet:

• Make sure their costume ends at the knees. Long princess dresses or wizard robes can make for tripping hazards, especially if they touch the ground. Hem the costume if need be so that your child can walk unimpeded.

• Put them in comfortable sneakers for Trick or Treating. Those Cinderella shoes or football cleats may compliment their costume well, and they should wear them during a photo op, but they aren’t the best for traversing the neighborhood in. If they are going to be on their feet or walking for a while, put them in comfortable and supportive shoes.

• Stick to the sidewalks. Not only is it a bit impolite to cut through front yards, your child could trip on a tree root or a small hole and end up spraining their ankle, or worse.

• Make sure your kids have warm, dry socks. If it’s going to be wet, rainy or even snowing, pack an extra pair in case their first pair gets damp.

• See and be seen. Equip your child with a flashlight so that they can see the ground in front of them if it starts to get dark, and make sure their ensemble is easily seen in the event that they will be crossing the street.

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Preventing Foot Problems on Halloween

Here are a few things to keep in mind to help keep your kids’ feet safe this Halloween.

1. Smart Shoe Choices – This is probably the most important tip we can give. Although that ruby red set of heels or those sandals may go great with your Little Red Riding Hood or Beach Bum costume, they aren’t what you’re going to want to wear if you’re going to be on your feet all night walking around the neighborhood. Make sure you choose a comfortable and supportive shoe that can handle the rigors of walking all over the neighborhood.

The same goes for your child’s footwear. You might think that the shoes they have on are cute and a perfect match for their costume, but if they aren’t shoes they wear regularly, they can cause problems. Have your kids break in new shoes before they go our Trick or Treating, and make sure their walking shoes have plenty of support and protection. Also, if it’s a shoe they don’t wear often, make sure they aren’t rubbing too hard in certain areas of your foot, or all that walking in poorly fitted shoes will almost assuredly lead to blisters. If you’re going along with your child tomorrow night, pack their everyday shoes in a bag in case they want to swap out during Trick or Treating.

2. Paved Paths – It’s also a good idea to stay on paved paths this Halloween. You might be able to shave off five seconds by cutting through lawns when you go door to door, but aside form being a little disrespectful, it also greatly increases your risk of injury in the event you slip or trip. The grass will be wet from the rain and snow, and you don’t know the terrain of someone else’s yard, so stay on the sidewalk and driveways if you want to avoid a sprained ankle.

3. Stay Visible – A foot or ankle injury may be the least of your worries if you are struck by a vehicle when crossing the street. Parents, add some visibility items to your child’s costume so that they can be seen, and consider having your group carry flashlights for extra visibility. Also, try to stay on well-lit paths and sidewalks, because if you can’t see where you’re stepping, you could slip or trip.

4. Don’t Overdo It – Yes, the prospect of free candy is great, but don’t try to hit every house in the city on Halloween. If you’re walking up and down driveways for hours, your feet and shins may start to hurt. If your feet are getting tired, call it a night and head home to enjoy your goodies. Shin splints and overuse strains are common when people go from little activity to a lot of activity in a short amount of time, so know your limits this Halloween.

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Avoiding Injuries During Trick Or Treating

Here are some tips to keep in mind to help keep your child’s ankles and feet safe while they are Trick or Treating.

1. Ditch The Cape and Masks – We understand that your child may want a long-flowing cape as they fly around the neighborhood as Batman or don a scary monster mask, but both of these Halloween items can contribute to trip and fall injuries. If your child is insisting on a cape, make sure it doesn’t come down much past their waist. As for masks, visibility is a must, so test them out before you buy or consider other options, like face paint.

2. Light It Up – As you can probably see when you look out the window in the evenings, it’s getting darker earlier and earlier each night, and that loss of visibility will make it hard for your child to safely traverse the neighborhood. Have your child wear reflective clothing to help them stay visible to cars and others, and consider having them carry a flashlight so they can see steps or other obstacles as they go from door to door. If you’re going with them, carry a flashlight or two to help illuminate everyone’s way.

3. Comfort Over Costumed Shoes – If you bought a costume that comes with shoes, consider wearing them for any pictures you want to take, but switch to a more comfortable pair when Trick or Treating. A lot of shoes that come with prepackaged costumes are little more than cardboard in terms of support, and they aren’t something you’re going to want to be taking thousands of steps in on Halloween. Incorporate comfortable and supportive shoes into you’re child’s costume so their feet will be protected throughout the night.

4. Stay On Sidewalks – Talk to your kids about staying on driveways and sidewalks as they work their way through the neighborhood. Running through lawns may get you there a couple seconds faster, but not only is it impolite, it significantly increases your risk of a slip or trip. The grass will likely be wet as temperatures drop with the sunset, so stay on the dry and slip-resistance sidewalks and walkways during Trick or Treating.

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Halloween with Foot Pain

Here are a couple Halloween tips to keep in mind in the event you or your child has a foot injury.

1. Incorporate the Injury – If you’re stuck in a cast, don’t despair. Instead, incorporate it into your costume! Go as Frankenstein with a new leg, a mummy with wrapped feet, an injured sports star or a pirate with a peg leg. If you’re on crutches, turn them into wings and go as some type of bird. The possibilities are endless!

2. Consider Wheels – If your leg injury is going to make to too cumbersome to get around the neighborhood, consider grabbing a knee scooter or a wheelchair. Not all houses will be wheelchair or scooter accessible, but they will help you or your child get closer to the door, and most households will have no problem coming out of their houses to make it easier on your child. Again, you can dress up your wheels to make them part of your costume. Goes as a NASCAR driver with a cool set of wheels, or go as a one-legged flamingo on your knee scooter. Additionally, we’d recommend you take a couple practice trips around the neighborhood on your new set of wheels before Halloween night.

3. It’s the Little Things – If your child can’t go Trick or Treating because of their injury, or you’re worried about how they’ll do on crutches or in a chair, let them get in the Halloween spirit in other ways. Let them hang decorations around the house, allow them to pick out the candy you’ll give out, and don’t forget about carving pumpkins! There are a lot of activities you can do leading up to Halloween that can help your child enjoy the holiday before Halloween night.

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