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For many of us, a Halloween costume consisted of a thin plastic mask held tenuously by a few staples and an elastic string. Accompanying this mask was the 'one size fits most' body suit with that evocative smell of flame retardant. The characters were either our favorite television heroes or else the stock horror movie monsters we all grew up on- Dracula, Frankenstein, The Werewolf and so on. A few of us had the pleasure of wearing those rubber latex full-head masks, but they were generally out of our parents' price range.
How times have changed! Halloween costumes today are big business, with intricate puppet pieces and special makeup effects straight out of Hollywood. A good quality costume can easily cost hundreds of dollars, and rental fees can also tax the average household budget. Many parents are now deciding to create their own homemade Halloween costumes in an effort to save some money or to help their child recreate a favorite character not featured in the commercial costume outlets.
Most self-made costumes are not complicated, and combined with some makeup effects and your child's acting ability can be quite convincing. But before you allow your child to wear your homemade creation, you need to make sure that the costume itself passes the same sort of safety check imposed on the commercial costume industry. Here are some things to consider before your child walks out of the house in the costume you helped design.
1. Proper ventilation. This is perhaps one of the most critical areas to consider, because a child may not even realize that he or she is in danger until they start to succumb to carbon dioxide poisoning. If your costume fits completely around a child's head, make sure you incorporate plenty of openings to allow a good circulation of air. Don't rely on the commercial mask designs that only seem to provide a few small holes around the mouth and nose- there is more air coming in than you may realize. A traditional plastic face mask has air circulating from all directions, not just the small ventilation holes you can see. Your homemade mask should include vent holes for the mouth, nose and top of the head. You can hide these vents with the use of screen mesh materials or opaque lightweight cloth, but you must include them in your design.
If a child is put into an unventilated costume that covers his entire head, carbon dioxide will eventually build up and cause dizziness, possible nausea and even black-outs. Before you allow your child to wear a mask in public, test it out under your careful supervision. If your child reports feeling dizzy or excessively hot, you need to create more venting.
2. Flame retardance. If you can recall your own childhood experiences with those 'mask and cape' commercial costumes, you probably remember that distinctive chemical odor on the body suit. That chemical was a flame retardent, designed to keep the costume material from burning up quickly. The commercial costume industry is obligated by law to provide flame-retardant materials on any costume designed for children's use. While you may not be under the same strict guidelines as the pros, you should still consider fire safety issues with your costume design.
If you buy your material from a traditional fabric store, chances are it is not coated with flame retardant chemicals. You may use almost any fabric material you wish for creating a costume, but be aware of its flammability at the time of purchase. The store clerk should be able to suggest fabrics that are more fire-resistant by nature, or they may have a commercial flame-retardant you may apply to the material after the fact.
Besides using flame-resistant material, you should also consider how easily your child can escape from the costume in case of a fire. Use snaps or Velcro to hold the costume together- they are easily broken in an emergency. If you use a zipper, make sure that the child has access to the mechanism. A child should not have to depend on the kindness of strangers to escape from his costume. Under no circumstances should you sew your child into a costume without any escape mechanism at all. Even if you must sacrifice a little 'artistry', it is far better to have a safe child than a costume with no way out.
3. Proper visibility. Again, remember the lesson of those early store-bought masks. The eye holes provided abundant visibility, both direct and peripheral. Even the more advanced latex rubber heads provided a fair amount of visibility, although some peripheral vision may have been sacrificed. Your own costume should provide at least the same level of visibility as the latex models, if not the full range of vision afforded by the plastic masks. Many homemade costumes have large eyeholes covered by a sheer material that allows the actor to see where they are going. Many oversized monster costumes place this material in the 'mouth' area of the costume, where no one would suspect eyeholes to be. You could also use makeup that matches the color of the fabric to hide the large eyeholes needed for good vision. Have your child apply two large circles of dark makeup around the eyes to diminish the effect of the eye holes. Without proper visibility, your child may not see traffic hazards while trick or treating, or suffer injury at a Halloween party by tripping over decorations or not reacting to sudden incidents.
4. Range of motion. Make sure your costume allows a full range of motion for your child. A child may be able to compensate for a few restrictions on his mobility, like the inability to turn his head, but anything more than a minor inconvenience is asking for trouble. Costumes should be designed to avoid constant stress on the wearer's back or extremities. If an extreme position is required, such as the back end of a two-child costume animal, then you must insist on reasonable break periods. A costume should always retain some flexibility so that the actor(s) can move quickly when necessary. Any costume that requires restrictive movements should be reserved for older children, and an adult should always be present who understands the proper release procedure of such an elaborate costume.
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