Keeping Halloween safe and fun for kids seems to be harder and harder every year as the holiday has turned into a gore fest of yard displays and weirdos and the like. Remember when Halloween and Trick Or Treating was a cute little holiday for kids?! *sigh* If you’re planning on heading out on Halloween night, here are a few things you can do to make sure your family stays safe during the Trick Or Treating festivities!
Find an Alternative to Neighborhood Trick Or Treating:
- Look for family-friendly events in your local community: a haunted house, harvest festival, or safe Trick Or Treating event at a children’s park or shopping mall. Many churches, schools, and charities put on safe Halloween activities like “Trunk Or Treat” lots (where families gather in a parking lot and decorate the trunks of their cars and pass out candy), carnivals, or costume parades. Kiddos can have a fun Halloween experience and not feel left out of neighborhood Trick Or Treating.
- Plan your own party! Invite neighborhood friends and have a blast safely in your own home.
- Stay in and have a Halloween family movie night! Order a pizza, watch one of these family-friendly Halloween flicks, (or check out the “13 Nights of Halloween” on Freeform) and munch on your favorite treats! And then, when the kiddos go to bed, the original Halloween classics are a must! Not the slasher gore stuff, but the scare you like crazy movies from your childhood! Halloween, Friday the 13th, The Shining, Christine… Just make sure all the doors, windows, and curtains are sealed shut! And check the showers before you go to bed. No, really, you should always check in there. And the closets, ’cause Michael.
Will You Be Greeting Trick Or Treaters at Your House?
- Clear the pathways, driveway, lawn, and porch of any walking hazards.
- Keep lit Jack O’ Lanterns and other décor at a safe distance from the door and away from walking paths.
- Leave the porch, driveway, or walkway lights on (or at least set to a dim mode).
- Do not open your door without checking out the scene first. It may be hard to determine a “safe spook” from those “crazy cooks”, but if you get a weird feeling about your Trick Or Treaters, it is okay to pass on opening the door.
- Better yet, if you trust in the chocolate honor system (!), leave a bucket of treats out on the porch or at the end of the drive for the taking. We promise to only take one! 😉
- Consider passing out non-food items that will delight your visitors! Trinkets such as stickers, pencils, bubbles, glow sticks, erasers, etc. ensure that there will be a safe “treat” for kiddos with food allergies or like mine that do not care for sweets. *sigh*
- Not passing out treats this year? Leave a note on your door or porch steps letting ghouls and goblins know your house is a ‘skipper’! Simply leaving your lights off will not be enough to deter hungry ghosts and zombies (the teens especially!) from repeatedly trying to get you to the door. When our boy was a baby, we went as far as disconnecting our doorbell!
Dress the Kiddos Appropriately:
- Make sure costumes, wigs, and masks are made from flame-retardant materials.
- Be sure costumes and accessories have a proper fit (not too long, baggy, or covering eyes) to prevent trips and falls.
- Avoid Injury with Accessories – Wands, swords, or sticks should be short and flexible. Teach kiddos about holding, wearing, or showing costume “weapons” safely around others.
- Make sure masks allow your child to see easily or use face painting make-up.
- Choose light colored costumes and/or incorporate light into the outfit with light up jewelry, glow sticks or necklaces, or reflective tape. Make sure both the back and the front of your child’s costume is visible at night.
Treat Checks:
- Candy Rules – Discuss with your child before you start out Trick Or Treating what the “rules” will be regarding candy consumption. Will they be able to eat a few “safe” pieces along the way? Will they have to wait until after dinner? How many pieces will be allowed to be eaten once the group gets back home? How will little tummies feel if too much is eaten? Will there be a Mom & Dad “Candy Tax” for older kids? Where will the stash be hidden and eaten by Mom & Dad later in the night. Just sayin’.
- Toss items that are not packaged or may be homemade; anything not in original packaging or that may have come unwrapped; any small pieces that may be a choking hazard for young kids.
- Use a separate bag for collecting “safe” from well-known neighbors.
- If there are kiddos in your group with food allergies, be sure there is something safe for them to enjoy until their parents can go through their candy.
Plan Your Route:
- Map out the houses of family and friends that you’ll be visiting in the neighborhood. Only visit houses that are well-lit and never enter homes of strangers.
- Take younger kids out early while it is still fairly light out.
- Stay together in groups and count heads often.
- Set up a meeting place to check in with older kids or other family members.
- Make sure cell phone’s are charged.
- Stay on sidewalks and walk on the left side of the street facing traffic.
- Cross at designated crosswalks, being especially sure to look both ways.
- Avoid unknown animals and pets.
- And I love this tip I heard recently on the John Tesh radio show: In the event of an encounter with strangers, teach young children to scream “FIRE” (as loud and as long as they can) to signal for help! Many adults are used to hearing young children screaming things like “NO!” or “I DON’T WANT TO GO!” but everybody will react to a scream of “FIRE!”.
- Give your little ones an “In case of Emergency” Tattoo! Stamp your child’s hand or draw a little picture with a Sharpie marker (that way it won’t easily wash off during any festivities) and write your cell phone number on your child’s hand or wrist so that, worst-case scenario, if you do get separated, someone can contact you immediately.
You can download this FREE Halloween Safety coloring book from McGruff the Crime Dog and go over Halloween safety with your kids. Maybe do a few pages the week of Halloween while dinner is being prepared or after homework is done.
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