5 ways to keep kids safe on Halloween

 

Happy Halloween!  so many of us are gearing up for a fun night of trick-or-treating.  it's a fun and magical time for children.  but it can also be dangerous if proper precautions aren't taken.  here are 5 easy tips to keep kids safe on Halloween...

 

 

light it up

trick-or-treating doesn't officially start around here until it's dark outside.  and with the cold, Midwest weather, it's common for people to drive their children from street to street.  so i do all that i can to make sure that Bear is fully visible to cars.  that means his costumes are never all black.  he also has glow sticks attached to his front and back so he can be seen coming and going.  (you could also use reflective tape)

 

give them your number

write your first name and cell phone number on a piece of paper or your child's arm before you head out.  that way if they get lost, there is a way for someone to contact you if your little one can't/doesn't remember your phone number.

 

 

hold hands

keeping little ones close during the trick-or-treating hullabaloo can be tough, but with all the people out driving around, we do our best to keep him within arm's reach.  it can be tough for Bear to wait to cross the street, but we've impressed in him the importance of safety and hand-holding when crossing the street- especially at night.

 

know who you're getting candy from

it still came as a surprise several years ago when a man living 2 doors down from us was arrested for having thousands of horrible and illegal images of kiddos on his laptop.  and even though i keep  vigilant up year round, every Halloween season when we begin mapping out our path, i make sure i go onto Family Watchdog and pulled the sex offenders report for my neighborhood.  and then i make sure we don't go to their houses.  and i also watch to make sure that they aren't handing out candy on Halloween.  in our state, sex offenders don't have extra restrictions on Halloween, but you better bet if i see them handing out candy, i'm calling law enforcement so they can keep a close eye on them.  to find a list of offenders in your neighborhood, visit the Family Watchdog site and enter your address.  a map similar to the one below will pop up.  the red, blue and green boxes represent the residence of different types of offenders.  you can click on the squares to open up their info to include specific address, name, picture, and what they were convicted of.  it's a great tool to use to learn exactly who is in your neighborhood. 

 

check and double check

before you set out, make sure that you've instated the family rule of: no eating candy during trick-or-treating.  not only will this keep little ones from getting hyped up on all that sugary goodness before bed, it gives you time to check the packaging on all treats back at the house before they're consumed.  we have a firm rule about how treat wrappers should look... they shouldn't appeared to be opened and resealed, no chemically smells, and no homemade treats.  my reasoning is that i just don't know everyone, so i'm not going to implicitly trust them.

 

 

be safe out there tonight, friends!! 

 

 

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