With Halloween quickly approaching, you are likely planning a fun night out trick or treating with the family. While doing your planning be sure that you put some focus on the safety of your trick or treating adventure in addition to choosing the best costume.
In our subdivision alone, there are nearly ONE HUNDRED kids who will be out…and that doesn’t include friends, family and kiddos who come from neighboring areas – so clearly – safety needs to be a priority.
We’ve gathered our top tips in one easy list.
8 Trick or Treat Safety Tips for Kids and Parents
Brighten up. I know this is spoken of over and over, but it’s a biggie. Make sure that you have bright clothing, reflective tape or patches or at the very least some flashlights and glow sticks so that your entire crew is easy to see at night. It’s tough when many of the costumes that are out there are black or dark colored, but since you are out walking it is important that you can be seen by oncoming vehicles.
Chaperone your kids. I cannot tell you how many groups of young kids (under 10) I saw out trick or treating without an adult last year. Maybe I am a bit old fashioned, but I think that until a kid is a teen, you should still be keeping an eye on their trick or treating adventures. This is to protect them as well as supervise their behavior.
Plan your route. It’s important to have a plan and to know where you are going. Since you will be out walking in the dark, and you *could* potentially be separated, you want to make sure that you are prepared – knowing where you are heading and which way to walk home.
Stay on sidewalks. If you stay walking on the sidewalks, you keep yourself self safe from getting hit by a vehicle. Try to always use the crosswalk when crossing the road as well.
Stay on well lit roads. Make sure you do your trick or treating on roads that are well light. When a street doesn’t have street lights, it makes it just that much harder for oncoming vehicles to see you.
Consider using face paint instead of masks. Masks hinder your vision (and they make breathing hard!). Instead of wearing a mask, why not paint your face instead? Since you are out walking at night, your vision is your best friend. With a mask on it is easy to not see obstacles in the way.
Wear comfy shoes. So many cute little princess dresses and kids wearing heels to match, but let me tell you, these shoes are a hazard as many little ones end up tripping over and over again, especially when they get excited and start running. And, I’m fairly confident your tiny princess wants to go door-to-door on her own, not need to be carried.
Inspect the candy before the kids dig in. When I was a kid, it was always a big deal to have your parents check your candy before you ate it. Check to make sure the candy is still in its original wrapper and does not appear to have been previously opened. Also, avoid homemade treats. It is very kind of others to prepare such treats, but it is a good rule of thumb to toss these out as you can’t control the ingredients.
Do you have any additional tips you’d like to add? Consider focusing on the fun, not the scary of the day and night.
Also – be sure to check out these dynamite accessories for your little trick or treater.
And – the best questions: what is your costume? And your favorite candy? (I’m a Reese’s Peanut Butter girl, myself.)
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