Before you send your ghosts and goblins out for some treats, make sure they know how to navigate neighborhoods safely.

For child pedestrians, Oct. 31 is the most dangerous day of the year. In fact, children younger than age 15 are four times more likely to be killed while walking on Halloween than any other night of the year.

Susan Helms of Safe Kids Mid-South says that children are particularly vulnerable because they are exposed to traffic threats beyond their cognitive, developmental, behavioral, physical and sensory abilities. This is heightened because parents sometimes overestimate their children’s pedestrian skills.

Children are impulsive and can’t easily judge speed, space, distance and velocity. Sharpness of hearing and seeing perception and proper scanning ability develop gradually in children and often don’t fully mature until age 10.

Safe Kids Mid-South offers these safe pedestrian tips for Halloween and every day of the year:

• Always cross the street with your children. Never allow a child younger than age 10 to cross the street alone.
• Always model and teach proper pedestrian behavior. Make eye contact with drivers prior to crossing. Don’t assume the driver sees you just because you see him.
• Instruct children to look left, right and left again when crossing and as they continue to cross.
• Teach children to walk facing traffic and as far to the left as possible when sidewalks are not available.
• Keep play out of the driveway, in adjacent unfenced yards, in streets or in parking lots.
• Avoid walking at night, because drivers simply have a difficult time seeing pedestrians. But if walking at night cannot be avoided, wear something that is brightly colored and retro-reflective.

Safe Kids Mid-South, headquartered at Le Bonheur Children’s, is part of a global campaign dedicated solely to the prevention of accidental injuries to children age 14 and under – the No. 1 health risk children face today. Safe Kids Mid-South raises awareness about preventing injury, provides information and skills to make the environment safer, and helps pass laws for children's safety.

For more information about safety or to join the coalition, please call (901) 287-6730 or click here.