It’s time for trick or treat! Here are tips to help everyone have a safe and fun experience.

Around the Home

Follow these guidelines to make your home safe and inviting for trick-or-treaters:

• Leave your front lights on. This gives kids a well-lit path to your door. A well-lit home also reduces your chances of being "tricked" by holiday vandals.

• Remove items such as planters, hoses and lawn decorations so your visitors don't trip on them.

• Keep pets inside.

• Place candle-lit jack-o'-lanterns far away from the door so that children will not brush up against them. Better yet, light jack-o’-lanterns with flameless battery-operated candles.

• Keep your indoor jack-o'-lanterns away from curtains and any decorations that could catch fire.

• For Halloween luminaries, place flashlights or flameless battery-operated tealights inside the bags, rather than burning candles.

On the Streets

Young children should go with an adult or a responsible older child. Remind them of these basic safety tips:

• When walking after dark, walk facing traffic – especially if there are no sidewalks.

• When there are sidewalks, stay on the sidewalk and out of the road.

• Cross streets at corner intersections.

• Walk, don’t run, from house to house.

• Go only to houses where they know the people inside.

• Stay away from unfamiliar houses and lawns, where ornaments, furniture and even tree stumps can cause them to trip.

• Never enter a house, unless they are with a grown-up.

• Don’t eat any of the goodies until a grown-up has had a chance to carefully examine them.

Additional Tips

Make sure the kids eat a healthy meal before heading out. Then they'll be less likely to overindulge on candy.

If you are not walking with your children, make sure you know who is with them – and set a time for them to be home. Have them carry a mobile phone in case of emergency.

While driving on Halloween, remember that the night will be filled with excited children who may forget their parents' warnings about street safety. Drive extra carefully. Keep an eye out for kids walking between driveways and cars or crossing in the middle of the block rather than at the corners. Adults who choose to drink alcohol should have a designated sober driver.

Inspect your children’s Halloween treats when they arrive home. Tampering with food is rare, but it’s a good idea to check all the candy and treats before your kids start snacking. It's OK to accept homemade treats from people you know very well. But the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you cut fruit into small pieces before serving and throw away any unwrapped foods.

Sources:
American Academy of Pediatrics
The StayWell Company, LLC