The time is midnight, the sky is dark. This annual holiday can become a nightmare for kids and parents.
What is supposed to be a fun night for all kids to dress up as whatever they want and acquire candies, it is not always how it seems.
Halloween has been ranked the deadliest day of the year for child pedestrians. Many factors contribute to these disputes, and some parents argue that these can be stopped. Meanwhile, other people believe that holidays will always have these types of dangers, therefore there is not much we can do.
Celebrated all over the world, Halloween is a day where you can express yourself through a costume without judgment from others, while collecting treats. Many kids look to Halloween as a social outlet to hangout with their friends. Though this has caused much controversy for the rest of the community. Taking place on October 31, it sets the perfect stage for a chilly, dark, and spooky night.
Many parents, such as Rocio Benavides, feel as though kids deserve to have fun on Halloween, although there are a few dangers.
“I think Halloween is a fun time to dress up and go around the neighborhood, maybe meet new people and neighbors along the way.”
While many adults share this lighthearted nature of Halloween, others make their kids take more precaution.
“My parents always either go with me or make one of my friends parent’s go with us to make sure we’re safe,” says Bella Sandoval, a 9th grade student at Castaic High School.
A common danger that appears is the fear of teenagers doing obnoxious or illegal activities.
“Yeah, so I work at a Bowman (high school), and the stuff that the kids tell me that goes on raises some concerns,” explains Rocio Benavides
One of the major concerns which has gotten more and more popular is the lacing of candies with the potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl.
“It can easily kill anyone, so if it does happen, the person who took it would most likely be dead or could develop an addiction to it,” says Bella Sandoval.
This, along with other issues like weapons being in candy and kids getting into car accidents.
“I think to make it a safer day for everyone, a parent should accompany a group of kids, or kids should go with a group of friends,” Rocio says when asked about how to make Halloween safer.
A common theme emerged when talking to all interviewees, “I think that halloween is pretty safe for everyone except for young kids you know, but they can just go with a parent,” as Kevin Pallete says.
