Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween will be here in a couple days.  While it seems like fewer and fewer people are doing the handing out candy thing (I guess this may vary by neighborhood) and more and more people are taking their kids to "trunk or treats" or similar community events, either way, it is important to stay safe--both you and your kids--during the holiday.

• Take the kiddos to "safe neighborhoods".  Obviously even the most safe and well-to-do neighborhoods can be unsafe but dropping them off in "the hood" is asking for trouble.
• Be careful driving.  Kids may be darting in and out of traffic, even on really busy streets, without paying attention to cars so drivers need to be extra careful on this night.
• Make sure the kids go out in groups and with someone older to supervise; they should never go off by themselves.
• Make sure the kids are wearing reasonably safe costumes (nothing that blocks their vision or could easily go up in flames).
• Make sure the kids are lit up like a Christmas tree; it makes them more visible to traffic and other people who are out and about.
• Give kids a safety talk before they go out (it will probably go in one ear and out the other because they are so excited about trick or treating but that is why they have an older, more responsible person with them).
• If your community has a curfew, follow the rules and be back home before the curfew goes into affect.
• Kids should each carry basic safety gear with them including a cell phone and a flashlight.
• Always check the candy that they bring home.
• Make your home safe for both trick or treaters and yourself.  Make sure there is adequate lighting, never leave keys/wallet/cell phone right by the door where strangers will be walking up to, always keep your guard up for possible vandalism or home invasion robbers (unlikely to happen but better safe than sorry).