Lake in the Hills offers safety tips for trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating in Lake in the Hills is permitted between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. We recommend that residents who want to give out candy turn their exterior lights on at their convenience any time between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Keeping front lights off is suggested if you wish to indicate that your home is not a stop to receive candy.
The village does not plan to issue any changes to trick-or-treating this year. Residents may participate in Halloween according to their own comfort levels. They encourage the community to continue following the safety guidelines from public health agencies, including frequent hand washing, social distancing, and wearing masks when social distancing is not possible.
Consider the following safety tips and ideas for a socially distant Halloween celebration:
• Stay home if you are sick.
• If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.
• Avoid large trick-or-treating groups.
• Keep hand sanitizer near your door for you and for trick-or-treaters. Take sanitizer with you when taking your children out to trick-or-treat.
• Consider scheduling a candy swap with family and friends while wearing PPE if you'd prefer not to take your children trick-or-treating this year.
• Offer candy on a disinfected table or use some other method to eliminate direct contact with trick-or-treaters.
• Greet trick-or-treaters from your porch and offer candy from a container at the end of your driveway or walkway to enjoy the event while maintaining your distance from others.
• Make sure your children wash their hands after trick-or-treating, especially before eating their candy.
Residents can make known whether they do or don't welcome trick-or-treaters by posting a sign in their window. Download a sign at www.lith.org/our-village/community/halloween.
General Halloween Safety Tips
To help ensure adults and children have a safe holiday, the American Academy of Pediatrics has compiled a list of Halloween safety tips. Before Halloween arrives, be sure to choose a costume that won't cause safety hazards.
• All costumes, wigs and accessories should be fire-resistant
• If children are allowed out after dark, fasten reflective tape to their costumes and bags, or give them glow sticks
• When buying Halloween makeup, make sure it is nontoxic and always test it in a small area first
• Remove all makeup before children go to bed to prevent skin and eye irritation
Scary stats
Here's a scary statistic: Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Lack of visibility because of low lighting at night also plays a factor in these incidents.
Keep these tips in mind when your children are out on Halloween night:
• A responsible adult should accompany young children on the neighborhood rounds
• If your older children are going alone, plan and review a route acceptable to you
• Agree on a specific time children should return home
• Teach your children never to enter a stranger's home or car
• Instruct children to travel only in familiar, well-lit areas and stick with their friends
• Tell your children not to eat any treats until they return home
• Children and adults are reminded to put electronic devices down, keep heads up and walk, don't run, across the street
Safety tips for motorists
The National Safety Council offers these additional safety tips for parents - and anyone who plans to be on the road during trick-or-treat hours:
• Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs
• Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully
• At twilight and later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing
• Discourage new, inexperienced drivers from driving on Halloween