Trick or Treat? – 5 Halloween Safety Tips for Kids

For young kids in the US and Canada, Halloween is one of the most anticipated nights of the year. But parents are right to fear the frightful fest and it’s not because of the scary costumes. The distress is driven by poisoned candy, toxic face paint, stranger danger and the fact that your young child is out on the streets at night, playing the old trick-or-treating game with a bunch of friends. And those are just a few of the safety concerns that refuse to let you relax until your kid is back at home safely. Instead of ripping your kid from the fun, why not try these vital Halloween safety tips that can help prevent accidents from occurring?

5 Halloween Safety Tips for Kids

1. The first step is to choose safe costumes for Halloween.

   Clothing should be flexible, easy and comfortable to wear. Avoid loose items or clothing that can block your kid’s view.

   - Avoid oversized shoes or high heels that may cause your kid to trip.

   - Replace sharp objects like fake swords or knives with harmless rubber accessories.

   - Use face paint instead of vision-obscuring masks if possible. If not, be sure to make the eye openings large enough so that your kid has good visibility. You can choose to cover the exposed skin areas with black paint.

   - Use brightly colored Halloween costumes that can be easily seen by drivers or other pedestrians. If the theme does not permit this, add reflective tape to the treat bag or the costume itself.

2. The next step to ensure kids’ safety when trick-or-treating is to pre-plan the route and stick to it.

   - Avoid frustration and the risk of getting lost by mapping out a route that your kid is familiar with.

   - Have your child check in at regular intervals to make sure they stick to the pre-planned route and to know where they are or will be.

   - Ask them to stay on well-lit streets and avoid taking shortcuts through alleys, pathways or parking lots, and to stay clear of deserted streets.

   - Make sure they get their candy from the porch and wait outside of the house. NEVER go inside someone’s house. Encourage them to only visit houses with some sort of Halloween ornaments on the porch.

"Trick or Treat" by Michael Gil is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
3. Make sure the candy is safe to consume.

   - Tell your little ones to throw away any sweet that’s out of its factory wrapper and discourage them from eating homemade treats offered by strangers.

   - If your child is too young, discard choking hazards like hard candies, gum or peanuts.

   - Feed them a healthy meal before they go trick-or-treating to reduce the temptation of devouring the candy before they are home. If possible, make them their favorite dinner and be generous with the dessert.

   - Last but not the least, ask your kids to bring the treats home so that you can inspect them for safety before they devour all the candies. This, of course, may not be entirely possible, but it’s definitely worth a try!

Follow these simple Halloween safety tips and your little Batman or Tinkerbell can go trick-or-treating with less worries!