Halloween safety

Parents of trick or treating children should be aware of simple safety rules that make the whole event more enjoyable. Here are a few common sense tips that can help make the evening fun and safe:

Know the route your children will be taking if you aren't going with them. Safest of all is to ensure that an adult is going with them. If you can't take them, see if another parent or a teenage family member can go along.

Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as parties – all too often children set out for a short trick or treat and end up being invited into a friends house for a party, causing distraught parents to drive around for hours looking for them. Make sure you set a time that they should be home by. If they have a mobile (tucked safely out of sight of course, to avoid muggings) call them fifteen minutes before that time to remind them.

Explain to children the difference between tricks and vandalism. Throwing eggs at a house may seem like fun, especially if they find themselves mixed up with another gang of kids who might not be so well behaved, but it’s unfair to householders and can frighten older people greatly.

Your children know, of course, that animal cruelty is not acceptable. However, peer pressure can be a bad thing. Make sure that they know that harming animals is not only morally wrong but cruel – chasing cats in the street, throwing stones and making dogs bark in houses by throwing things at windows do happen and it can be hard for children to stand out against a group, so make sure they have a way to contact you if things get out of hand.

Halloween safety

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