By Pamela Singleton, Sonitrol Pacific Director of Communications
Posted October 29, 2009

My uber-awesome friends at the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department put together this list of safety and security tips for Halloween night and I wanted to share them.

Halloween Pointers for Parents

Halloween may be a fun holiday for children, but for parents, trick-or-treat time can be a little tricky. Concerns about children’s safety–whether they are out in the neighborhood or back home with bags of treats–can darken the day. To make Halloween a treat for all, follow these safety tips:

Make Sure Your Kids Dress Up Safely
– Check that the costumes are flame-retardant so the little ones are not in danger near burning jack-o-lanterns and other fire hazards.
– Keep costumes short to prevent trips, falls, and other bumps in the night.
– Try make-up instead of masks. Masks can be hot and uncomfortable and, more importantly, they can obstruct a child’s vision. (A dangerous thing when kids are crossing streets and going up and down steps.)
– Make sure children wear light colors or put reflective tape on their costumes.
– Trick-or-treaters always should be in groups so they are not a tempting target for real-life goblins. Parents should accompany young children.

Make Trick-Or-Treating Trouble-Free
– Make sure older children trick-or-trick with friends. Together, map out a safe route so parents know where they will be. Tell them to stop only at familiar homes where the outside lights are on.
– Try to get your children to trick-or-treat while it’s still light out. If it is dark, make sure someone has a flashlight and pick well-lighted streets.
– Make sure children know they should not enter strange houses or stranger’s cars.

Treats
– Children should not eat treats until they get home. One way to keep trick-ortreaters from digging in while they are still out is to feed them a meal or a snack
beforehand.
– Check out all treats at home in a well-lighted place.
– What to eat? Only unopened candies and other treats from family or well-known friends. By all means, remind children not to eat everything at once or they will be feeling pretty ghoulish for a while!