Halloween Safety Tips You Can’t Afford to Miss

For many children and adults alike, Halloween is one of the most fun nights of the year. Who wouldn’t love an evening of dressing up and FREE CANDY? But, with so many little ones out and about in one night, it’s important for everyone to be extra cautious to ensure we all enjoy a safe Halloween.

Here are five (5) things you can do to make sure tomorrow night is still fun but drama free.*

Practice Safe Trick or Treating

Before you leave the house, make sure both little AND big goblins know the basics: cross only at corners or marked crosswalks, never cross the street between parked vehicles, never go into a stranger’s house, watch out for cars backing or turning, wear bright colored clothing and use a flashlight. Help make your child visible in the dark by using a stripe of reflective tape on the front & back of their costume, glow-in-the-dark necklaces, or blinking pins similar to what night joggers wear.

You can find reflective tape at Lowe's or Home Depot. I keep a roll in our Halloween decorations box & use it each year on costumes. — You can find reflective tape at Lowe’s or Home Depot. I keep a roll in our Halloween decorations box & use it each year on costumes.

Drive Carefully

Halloween is considered the “deadliest day for child pedestrian accidents,” according to a State Farm study. Keep an eye open for children who forget the rules, use caution when traveling and obey posted traffic signs especially in neighborhoods.

Set the Rules

Make sure children know they should not open candy until they have returned home and that ALL candy should be inspected for tampering. Adults should accompany children, discuss the route their children should be taking, and most important, explain the difference between tricks and vandalism (especially cemeteries).

Curious George, the Man in the Yellow Hat, and Professor Wiseman

Prepare Your Home

Have a well-lit home both inside and out to prevent vandalism and injuries, remove all obstacles from your lawns to avoid injuries (or shine a light on Halloween lawn decorations), and don’t use candles in decorations that could set a fire.

Know Your Neighbors

In ideal circumstances, you would only visit homes of those neighbors you know, but at a minimum parents should check their neighborhoods for known sex offenders by visiting www.familywatchdog.us before heading out to trick or treat.

Lt. Wayne Kamus of the Madison Police Department also recommends parents do their due diligence before heading out on Halloween. He suggests looking over the following websites for some common-sense tips, as well as a few that might not occur to you.

[box type=”blank” class=”bg-blue rounded-10″]Does your family have any Halloween safety “tricks” we haven’t mentioned? If so, share them in the comments section. [/box]

*Thanks to the Madison and Huntsville Police Departments for their annual help in compiling these suggestions to keep our children safe on Halloween.

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Rocket City Mom

Rocket City Mom is a website about raising children in and around Huntsville, Alabama. Started in late 2010 by a local mom and newcomer to Huntsville, Rocket City Mom has grown into a thriving community of local parents and now boasts a staff of four, thirteen regular contributors, and tens of thousands of Tennessee Valley readers making it the #1 Parenting Resource in North Alabama.