Before your little ghosts and goblins suit up for a night of trick-or-treating, we have compiled some safety tips to make your night spooktacular (see what we did there?).
Halloween Safety Tip: Costumes
Halloween costumes should never block your vision. You don’t want little ones tripping over their own two feet. Sometimes, a better and safer option is to decorate your child’s face with face paint or make-up. Make sure the make-up is hypo-allergenic and keep it away from the eyes. False eyelashes should only be applied and removed according to the manufacturers instructions on the products package.
Parenting Pro Tip: Carry a wet towel or washcloth in case the Halloween make-up runs down the face while you’re trick-or-treating.
When it comes to Halloween props, don’t allow your kids to carry around sharp objects. Kids can get distracted and not see other people or pets around them. Sharp objects such as fake swords or bows and arrows could potentially poke someone’s eye out. (You saw that one coming, right?)
If you’re hitting the neighborhood when it’s dark outside, consider using reflective material on the front, back and sides of your child’s costumes. This way, your child can be seen by vehicle drivers.
Carry a flashlight. The “glow sticks” that children often carry around with them while trick-or-treating or at Halloween parties are filled with a chemical that causes eye irritation.
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Halloween Safety Tip: Sugar
Believe it or not, it’s not difficult to keep Halloween (somewhat) healthy. Instead of a sugar overload, here are some ways to keep the candy at a minimum:
- The smaller, the better. Look for candy that’s labeled as “fun size” or “mini.”
- Select candy that takes a while to eat like lollipops or sucking candies.
- Buy value packs of sugarless gum.
Take advantage of the portion control craze and hand out 100-calorie snack packs. (Look for their super cartons at warehouse stores to save money.) - Stock up on 100% fruit chews.
- Avoid candy completely; give out baseball cards, wacky packs, glow stick bracelets and necklaces.
Feed everyone (including yourself) real food first! Don’t send kids out trick-or-treating hungry. Instead, make sure they have a full dinner before they take off on their journey. The hungrier they are, the more candy they will eat en route.
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Before Halloween, try to avoid unnecessary sugar or get rid of sugar altogether. That means — no soda, fruit drinks, sugar cereals and pancake syrup since you know they’ll be eating candy.
Trying to keep your kids away from Halloween candy is nearly impossible after your children took the time to go door to door. Just remember: everything in moderation. Consider allowing your children a few pieces of candy when they get home from trick-or-treating. You may also want to have them count out ten extra favorites to save for the following few days. Then establish a system, perhaps one piece with their lunch and one after dinner.
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Parenting Pro Tip: Don’t let kids keep their candy stashes in their rooms. Storing the loot in the kitchen will allow for less unsupervised temptation.
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