Candles and Halloween

I’m on the fence with this tbh.

On one hand I think it’s a bit cheeky to expect people to use LEDs rather than ensuring children are properly supervised, or wearing outfits that aren’t highly flammable.

Children are exposed to plenty of hazards every time they leave the house. Take a children’s playground for example, kids could easily fall off a climbing frame and sustain a serious head injury if they weren’t careful. We don’t insist that climbing frames are ripped up because Janet can’t be arsed watching her child carefully. It’s up to parents to keep their children safe.

I’ve lived in quite a few areas, one that was very popular with trick or treaters, and we’ve never had “hordes” of kids squeezing past each other on paths so maybe my experiences colour my opinion.

FWIW, I always use LED lights anyway because my DC have additional needs and candles are just too dangerous. Anywhere.

So I do understand why people think they’re risky and why they prefer LED candles.

I think my issue is expecting home owners to alter their behaviour rather than suggesting that parents don’t buy flammable tat, and actually supervise their child properly.

We love Halloween and do pumpkins etc but we don’t put them out now as my DC don’t cope with people knocking on the door. Suggesting other people can’t participate in Halloween because you won’t properly supervise your child seems unreasonable.

Some people may feel unhappy at buying plastic candles from an environmental perspective. And yes you can reuse them…but every year I end up rebuying more as I can never find the ones from the last year! Not everyone will want to do that - and I think that’s their choice, tbh.

I wouldn’t dream of using real candles as they’ve never felt safe to me (but I’m also very fucking clumsy…). I worry about them being knocked over, blown over etc. But I think that’s my decision to make. I wouldn’t be impressed if someone told me that I couldn’t use what I wanted on my property. If you don’t like others using candles and don’t want to supervise your child, don’t let them go trick or treating. Plenty of other ways to celebrate Halloween 🤷‍♀️

I'm way too busy injecting drugs into lollies to go buy fake candles.

🤦🏻‍♀️

Trick or treat is essentially begging with menace.
If you want to attract kids following this American 'tradition' then do away with traditional carved swedes and use pumpkins, candles might be considered traditional, but pumpkins and trick or treating certainly aren't.
Pick your battles - if you want kids to do the trick or treat thing, put decorations out etc, but at least make it safe for the kids.
Personally, we turned all the outside lights off and shut the curtains.

There are some really dumb people on this thread. I bet they don't believe in using child car seats because
"I'm not spending money on those fings! People didn't use them in the 70s and we was all fine."

I’m surprised at the voting here too. It’s a genuine concern and one that’s occurred to me too. I always use LED lights in pumpkins for this reason. Why wouldn’t you?

Sure, real candle flames are nice, but they shouldn’t be placed anywhere close to small children.

Another reason to not put a pumpkin out & encourage 'trick or treaters'

You think its odd that more of the public are aware of something after someone led a successful public awareness campaign?

Bless!

@Appalonia

then you don't have very good recall.

plus a few candles in a home environment are much easier to be mindful of than candles set on the ground on a night where kids are excited and jostling around at the front doors of houses.

Do you not remember the 'safety clips' of children in nightwear near candles??

@Thepurplecar

well said 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

it's scaring my the bloody awful attitudes of some people.

I hope your friends child had a lovely time 🎃👻

I find the 'well I'm not buying special lights' self-righteous attitude absolutely bizarre from people who are buying pumpkins (and going to the effort of carving them) and buying sweets to hand out to the kids they're tempting onto their property with the pumpkins.

Yes it might be a small risk, but it's a risk with utterly horrific consequences if it does go wrong, and a totally avoidable one.

As for people naively thinking that fancy dress outfits are fire retardant. Maybe some are. But online retailers such as Amazon sell all manner of stuff that's dangerous / not up to British code / downright unsafe. It gets reported, they ban it and the next day the seller pops up again with a slightly different description but the same product.

@yeaitsmeagain they're a couple of quid for a few. Hardly going to break the bank if you can afford a pumpkin & sweets to hand out.

a tiny amount to pay to keep kids safe.

Well you can use them year after year, all year round, so not exactly the worst thing any of us does to the environment.

How many more are going to mention Claudia Winkleman's kid?

It's odd how nobody gave a shit until the child of a celebrity got burn injuries.

@mitogoshigg

great, if they're bumped tipping boiling hot wax onto heads of children.. fabulous! 🙄🙄

A couple of battery operated candles or tea lights that can be used for many years, is barely going to have an impact on the environment & expensive???? £4 for 5 in Dunelm & cheaper in discount stores.

My mother was a nervous wreck during that time. Her mother died as a result of an accident lighting the open fire in her living room. It happened before I was born.

@Miyagi99

Keep your kid’s flammable costumes away! I know what to do next Halloween!

I hope you're not implying what I think you are.

That adds so much to the thread

@RegimentalSturgeon

not inside a carved pumpkin on the door step there's not. Have as many 'real' ones elsewhere as floats your boat.

i can assure you a child's clothing going up in in flames is pretty bloody joyless.

The angry or disbeliving posts are so unnecessary.

The OP made a gentle and polite request for people to consider doing something (a request that it seems has been made by fire fighters for many years now). If you want to carry on using real candles regardless then go right ahead, but you don't need to turn into an overdramatic "it's health and safety gone mad" bore - you're the fragile ones here.

You don’t recall so it didn’t happen? Candles are notorious for causing fires and burns. It was a huge documented problem in Georgian and Victorian times, but presumably as you weren’t there, so that didn’t happen, either?

Dear Lord, they walk amongst us.

Dont put a lit pumpkin out if you don't want people knocking your door. If you want people knocking your door use a battery run candle instead of risking a child getting burnt.

just give it a go, being a decent person isn't actually that difficult!!

@Gnomy

i presume it's carved? Then outfit can still meet flame.

why take the risk when battery operated tea lights/candles are just as good without the risk??

@mdinbc

no just the hem of a fancy dress costume or fabric bag. These cheap import fancy dress fabrics go up in flame in seconds.

irrespective of a parent watching a child it can still cause burns (fatalities) why put the children at risk???

plus there are loads of children that go out without a parent or who are 'supervised' by older siblings.

As the homeowner, why would anyone put children at risk, especially when there's a cheap & easy way to avoid it??

You only need to buy a couple of battery operated tea lights that can be used year upon year. Inexpensive things.

you really begrudge doing that to stop a child getting bunt?

Bloody hell.