Having a FUN and SAFE HALLOWEEN!!!

Hal­loween Safe­ty and Secu­ri­ty Tips

As most peo­ple know, espe­cial­ly par­ents, Hal­loween is just around the cor­ner. The stores are full of can­dy treats and cos­tumes and the kids are full of ideas on what they want to wear. And again this year they will ask to go “Trick or Treat­ing” with­out parental chap­er­on­ing. These are but a few chal­lenges we face on Hal­loween. Here are some easy to imple­ment Hal­loween safe­ty tips to con­sid­er.

1. Kids cos­tumes should have reflec­tive prop­er­ties sewn into them or you can apply reflec­tive tape to bags and jack­ets. Vis­i­bil­i­ty is the key! Kids that are seen have much less chance of being involved in traf­fic acci­dents. You can find this mate­r­i­al at craft stores etc. Do not use masks that will pre­vent a clear field of vision, use face paint as an alter­na­tive. Not only should kids be seen, they need to be able to see!
2. If your kids are going out with­out your super­vi­sion (over the age of 12), agree on a route and a time frame before they leave. Make it a rule to only cross streets at sig­nalled cross walks or prop­er­ly marked inter­sec­tions. No dodg­ing back and forth across streets!
3. Use the bud­dy sys­tem. The kids may have out­grown parental super­vi­sion, but being with old­er sib­lings or the neighbour’s kids is advis­able. Pro­vid­ing them with your old mobile phone in a zipped up pock­et for emer­gen­cies is also help­ful.
4. Trick or Treaters’ should not approach hous­es that are dark. If the home­own­ers’ are par­tic­i­pat­ing the house will be well lit, and it will like­ly have a pump­kin on the front step. It will look wel­com­ing. Kids should also be instruct­ed to NOT enter a strangers’ home, the treats can be received at the front step.
5. As a par­ent and a home­own­er, this is a time to keep all your out­side lights on, this can help keep the young ones in clear view, and deter the more trou­ble­some teens from van­dal­ism. At the con­clu­sion of the trick or treat­ing time, spend a few min­utes bring­ing poten­tial­ly trou­ble­some items into the back yard or garage. This would include the carved jack o’ lanterns, small dec­o­ra­tions, elec­tri­cal cords etc.
6. If you are dri­ving in res­i­den­tial neigh­bour­hoods, cut your speed and pay close atten­tion. Be extra care­ful when back­ing out of dri­ve­ways and park­ing lots. There will be tod­dlers and small kids that will be hard to see, plus they can be eas­i­ly dis­tract­ed and might sud­den­ly veer onto the street.
Hal­loween is a time to be enjoyed with your kids and your neigh­bour­hood. If you are new to the neigh­bour­hood or just haven’t had time to get to know your neigh­bours, this is a great oppor­tu­ni­ty. One of the most eco­nom­i­cal and effec­tive ways to cre­ate a safe neigh­bour­hood is to get to know the peo­ple in your com­mu­ni­ty. So enjoy the evening from your front porch chat­ting with your neigh­bours! Hap­py Hal­loween!