Neighborwho Provides Tips For Having A Safe And Happy Halloween
October is upon us and before we know it, little ghosts and goblins will be taking to the streets for the annual rite of trick-or-treating. Sure, part of Halloween is having scares and experiencing fright – but only when it’s in good fun. To help you and your family have a safe and spooktacular Halloween, below are some easy-to-follow safety tips.
Key Halloween Safety Tips For Parents
As a parent, Halloween is scary for reasons other than ghosts and goblins. The safety of your child on a day that invites real creeps and monsters is your main concern.
From haunted hayrides to costume parties to trick-or-treating, keep in mind the following safety tips:
Hayride Safety
Whether for scaring visitors or picking pumpkins, hayrides are a favorite Fall festivity. Just be aware of the possible dangers.
- Make sure your children understand and follow the rules. That likely includes no standing while the hayride is moving.
- If there’s a horse pulling the hayride, make sure your child knows not to startle or otherwise provoke the animal.
- Hold on to your small children. Even a little bump in the road can be dangerous on a ride without seatbelts.
- Pay attention when getting yourself and your children in and out of the hayride. This isn’t a car you’re getting into.
- Read the rules of the hayride before arriving. For instance, some hayrides ban wearing Halloween costumes.
- You’re on a farm, so wear closed-toed shoes… or wish you had.
Costume Party Safety
Attending a costume party is a fun alternative to trick-or-treating, but you’ll want to know a few things before letting your child attend.
- Make sure the party is supervised— but specifically, who will be supervising? Confirm that the other parents and/or neighbors who will be there are people you trust.
- Ensure that your child’s costume doesn’t interfere with his or her ability to walk or see safely.
- Find out if the host plans to take the party of kids trick-or-treating. If so, see our next tips for trick-or-treating safety.
Trick-Or-Treating Safety
Walk with a flashlight, don’t eat any candy until inspected, don’t cross the street without looking—you basically know the common-sense safety measures when it comes to trick-or-treating. But have you thought about the following?
- Find out who your neighbors really are if you haven’t already and avoid houses with sketchy owners.
- Be extremely careful walking in or near streets. Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Not to mention, the number of road rage incidents is rising.
- Get up to speed with the understanding of situational awareness. More of a mindset than a skill, situational awareness is essentially knowing what’s going on around you and being able to detect threats. Having a situational awareness mindset is especially important on Halloween.
We hope these tips help you and your child stay safe this Halloween.
Sophie Kaemmerle is Communications Manager at NeighborWho (https://www.neighborwho.com/ )