Spooky, Safe and Sweet
The Children’s Council Guide for a Perfect Halloween
Halloween will be here soon, make safety a part of your holiday fun! Start with these practical Halloween safety tips:
- When decorating pumpkins, leave the carving to older kids and adults, and let younger children draw their designs using markers, glitter glue or paint.
- Consider lighting pumpkins with flashlights, glow sticks or flameless candles to avoid the risk of fire.
- Dress your kiddos in bright costumes and opt for face paint instead of masks, which can obstruct vision and make it difficult to cross streets safely. If you know your older children will be trick-or-treating after dark, add reflective tape to their costumes. Finally, when shopping for your festive getup, look for “flame-retardant” fabrics that won’t burn.
- Pirate costumes are certainly a favorite, but instead of swords and sticks, use cardboard and tape to make bendable props. This avoids unnecessary accidents that can ruin everyone’s night!
- Feed your children a light meal or snack before heading out for the evening. If they are well-fed, kids are less likely to snack on their bounty of sweets.
- When trick-or-treating with your kids, stay distraction free by avoiding cell phones and other electronic devices. Encourage kiddos to walk, not run, and look both ways before crossing the street.
- If you have older children who want to venture out on their own, find out what route they plan to take and who they are going with, and check up on them via call or text message. Make sure they know to stick to lit streets and houses with porch lights on, and equip them with a flashlight and cellphone.
- When you return home, go through your children’s haul and discard any candy with opened or torn wrappers. Talk about how the candy will be handled, and how many pieces your child will be allowed to eat every day. Consider giving some of the treats away.
Halloween is a great time to talk to your children about situational awareness and safety. Make the most of the teachable moment, and don’t forget to have fun!
Adapted from:
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