Halloween Tips for Parents & Homeowners
Whether your child is a ghost, goblin, Spiderman or fairy princess this Halloween, please make safety your first priority. I scoured the web for the best tips and compiled a list of the most useful information from my favorite sites, here are things you might remind your children before heading out:
- Stay away from strangers
- Stay in familiar neighborhoods
- Always use the sidewalk whenever possible
- Stay in well lit areas approaching only houses with the lights on
- Keep track of time (wear a watch or carry cell phone)
- Carry a flashlight
- Do not approach any pets you do not know
- Stay outside a home to get treats, never go inside
- Get an adult that is with other children if you need assistance
Parents, keep in mind that children will be exerting a lot of energy. It is a good idea to give them a sensible meal before trick or treating. This also helps reduce the amount of candy they consume that night.
Reflective gear on the costume is a good idea so that cars can see your children. A flame-retardant costume is always best.
If possible, give your children a cell phone for the evening. Another idea is to write contact information on an index card for your child because emergency situations or panic can often cause a child to forget key information.
The website www.halloweensafety.com tells parents to remind older children the difference between fun and vandalism and for the younger children, having at least one adult walking alongside provides extra safety and supervision.
A great site for children that are feeling the need to be a little more independent during trick or treating is www.halloweenmagazine.com. Children can play a game where they answer questions such as “a nice man walks up to you and asks you to help find his kitten, what do you do?” The child is given two choices and upon selecting the correct answer he or she receives a “good job” and an explanation such as “always get an adult to help the man find his kitten”. Kids love playing games and this is a great tool for parents to reinforce safety rules.
Homeowners can also help out by clearing front yards of any unnecessary materials to prevent accidents. You might also try giving out treats that are non-edible such as pencils, cute flexible straws, erasers and stickers. There are a lot of great gift ideas that are inexpensive and located in the Halloween section of your local department stores.
Halloween is all about having fun, safe fun. For more tips on Halloween safety, please visit any of the following websites:
www.halloweenmagazine.com/play.html – Halloween Safety Game
www.redcross.org
www.sosnet.com/safety/halloween.tip.html
www.halloween-safety.com