Trick-or-treating is one of the best holiday traditions. Kids dress up as ghosts, goblins and ghouls and take to the streets in search of candy.
But, in recent years Trick-or-treating has been under a microscope. Many question how safe it is. Is this a tradition worth keeping? Many communities have attempted to rectify this by moving official trick-or-treating times earlier in the day to avoid darkness.
We hope trick-or-treating never goes away, but we do understand the importance of practicing safe trick-or-treating. That’s why we wanted to pass along a few simple tips you and your kids can follow to help stay safe this Halloween.
Don’t Trick-or-Treat alone
Whether you are going out with your kids or they are going out with a group of their friends, never let your kids go trick-or-treating alone. Especially if your kids are younger, going trick-or-treating by themselves is a good way to get lost. Also, there will be someone there to keep an eye on them from walking in the road or staying out of people’s yards. Besides, why wouldn’t you want to be out there trick-or-treating with your kids? These are fun and cherishable memories.
Keep visible
Whether it’s a cloak, cape, hood or mask black is a very popular Halloween costume color or element. Black makes for spooky costumes, but can also make the wearer hard to see when they are out trick-or-treating during sundown. Not being able to see the people around you is dangerous for drivers and potentially even other walkers. It’s very important to maintain visibility while trick-or-treating. Avoid pitch black costumes if possible or at least you and your children carry some kind of flashlight or light source. Another easy way to stay visible is to add reflective tape to clothing.
Use face paint over a mask
Everyone loves a great, scary Halloween mask. However, they do pose some issues for trick-or-treaters. Halloween masks can severely restrict the vision of the wearer and making it hard for them to see potential hazards around them: a root, rock or step that could be tripped over, a tree they could run into, just to name a few. Not to mention, masks can get hot and make breathing difficult after a couple hours or even minutes of walking around. If your kids are putting together a costume to go trick-or-treating in, try using face paint instead of a mask. This will help keep them cool, breathing easy and able to be more alert and aware of their surroundings.
Plan your route ahead of time
Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Everything goes smoother with a plan. Before you even hit the streets, on the prowl for some candy, make sure you all are in agreement on a route. Having an agreed upon route will ensure if anyone gets lost or separated from the group, they will know where everyone else is going. Another thing to plan ahead is a meeting point in case someone does get lost. Just like anything else in life, if you plan ahead and have all your bases covered, there is less room for disaster.
After a safe night of trick-or-treating, don’t let the kiddos break into the candy quite yet. Make sure they get a good dinner in them!
