What can we do to have a great Halloween and keep our children safe and healthy? Check out these Halloween safety tips to ensure a fun time for your family.

Trick or Treat Safety Tips

• Plan a route. Before trick-or-treating, talk with your children about where you are going and how many houses you plan to visit. Stick to well-lit houses in familiar neighborhoods only—preferably on streets with sidewalks.
• Supervise your children. Go along with your trick-or-treaters but also allow children to safely explore their world and grow their independence skills. Allow younger children to take the lead by ringing the doorbell and saying "Trick or Treat!" For older children, you may want to wait on the sidewalk at each house.
• Make your children visible. Go early and carry flashlights. Give your children glow necklaces to wear and put reflective tape on their costumes or clothing. You can buy reflective tape at most hardware stores.
• Stay on the sidewalks. Remind your children to stay on the sidewalks and avoid crossing yards. Lawn ornaments, furniture, and other impediments present tripping and falling dangers. Avoid taking shortcuts across backyards or alleys.
• Cross at the corner. Stop at all street corners and stay together in a group before crossing. Cross streets at the corner, use crosswalks, and do not cross between parked cars. Remind your children over and over again to look left, right, and left again before crossing the street.
• Drive carefully. Drive slowly and follow traffic signals and the rules of the road. Exit driveways and alleyways carefully. Have children get out of your car on the curb side, not on the traffic side. Watch for children in the street and on medians. Expect some children to dart out in front of you.

Halloween Candy Safety Tips

Parents should take precautions about Halloween candy safety, but its also important to have a realistic sense of harm. Its easy for the media to give us the sense that the world is a more menacing place than it really is. In the 1980s, a myth spread about the serious risk of troubled people using poison and razor blades to tamper with Halloween candy. Almost all reports were discredited.

But no amount of debunking can completely alleviate parent anxiety. After all, however rare, it could happen. Some Halloween candy safety precautions include:

• For young children, remove any choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies, or small toys.
• Instruct your children to show you all their candy before eating it so that you can carefully inspect it for tampering.
• Tell your children not to accept or eat anything that isnt commercially wrapped.
• Throw out candy or treats that are homemade, unwrapped, or have torn wrapping.

And managing the Halloween candy craze? First, to reduce trick-or-treat munching, give your children a snack or light meal before you leave the house. Decide ahead of time how many pieces of candy they can eat on Halloween night. Read our e-family archive article for additional tips on managing the Halloween candy craze including dental care tips for kids.

Pumpkin Carving Safety Tips

• Carve pumpkins on stable, flat surfaces with good lighting.
• Have children draw a face on the outside of the pumpkin and then do the cutting yourself.
• Place lighted pumpkins away from curtains and other flammable objects, and do not leave lighted pumpkins unattended.
• If you set jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, make sure that they are far enough out of the way so that childrens costumes wont accidentally set on fire.
• Artificial lights and candles are a safer alternative to real candles.

Halloween Costume Safety Tips

• If possible, have your children wear clothing that is bright, reflective, and flame retardant.
• If your child is carrying a prop, such as sword or pitchfork, make sure that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if your child falls on them.
• Avoid long, baggy, or loose costumes to prevent tripping.
• Insist that your children wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes. Mom’s high heels are better for costume parties, not trick-or-treating.
• Securely fit hats and scarves to prevent them from slipping over your childrens eyes.
• Apply a natural mask of cosmetics rather than have your child wear a mask that might restrict breathing or obscure vision. If you use a mask, make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough to allow full vision.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

More on This Topic

• Still trying to decide on a costume for our child? Here are some last-minute costume ideas - and some more easy Halloween kids costumes.
• Get ideas for "booing" your neighbors and friends and start a new Halloween tradition.
• Should toddlers trick-or-treat? Looking for a group costume idea? Join in the Halloween discussions on our Family Room blog.
• Family and kid-friendly Halloween recipes: Healthy Halloween Treats, Baking with Leftover Candy, Great Pumpkin Pancakes, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Mini Pumpkin Pies