Halloween can be fun, exciting, and just a little bit scary at times. The goal, of course, is to find ways for your kids to safely have fun, and avoid having to take a scary trip to an emergency room. The way to do that is to follow these Halloween safety tips.
Overall, the safety tips that apply specifically to the celebration of Halloween aren’t that different from day-to-day safety tips. For example, you have probably taught your children to look both ways before crossing the street. For whatever reason, kids (and some adults) forget about basic safety as they participate in trick-or-treating.
3 Halloween Safety Tips
Stick to the Rules
It has become common for individual towns and cities to make rules about trick-or-treating. Make sure that your family follows those rules. Doing so makes it really easy to avoid getting fined or otherwise punished for breaking the rules.
Find out what day trick-or-treating is allowed. No, it isn’t always October 31. It might be the weekend before or after. What time can your kids start trick-or-treating? Can they start immediately after school lets out, or do they have to wait until later? Adhere to the age limits that your town or city has imposed on trick-or-treating. There are reasons why elementary school kids are welcome while high school students are not.
Accompany your Kids
For best, and safest, results, make sure to go trick-or-treating with your kids. Parents don’t necessarily have to dress up in costume, but they should accompany their children as they go door to door. If you go with them, you can be certain that your children are safe – and that they aren’t being rude or mean to the adults handing out candy (or to the other trick-or-treaters).
Another excellent reason to take your kids trick-or-treating, instead of letting them go by themselves, has to do with traffic. It is not unheard of for overly-excited kids to suddenly run across the street in search of more candy. Drivers do not always see kids who dart out from between parked cars – until after a tragedy has occurred. Parents can prevent this by accompanying their kids as they trick-or-treat.
Costume Safety Tips
Will it be dark outside while you and your kids are trick-or-treating? Consider adding reflective tape to their Halloween costumes. Have your kids wear glow necklaces or carry a glow stick. The more visible you can make them, the better!
Masks can make it difficult for a child to see where he or she is going (especially after dark). Long princess gowns, or costumes with capes, can be harder to walk around in than your child’s regular clothes. One way to prevent falls is for parents to set the pace on trick-or-treating and make sure everyone walks (and doesn’t run).
Image by Jim Pennucci on Flickr.
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