How To Keep Your Kids Safe On Halloween

Kids dressed up on Halloween
Photo by D'Arcy Norman

If you're a parent, or even just a concerned citizen, you may find the prospect of children walking around at night in the neighbourhood troubling. Not only are there threats from vehicles and rowdy kids, but the remote threat of abduction is often on your mind. To help keep your kids safe tonight, we've created an easily memorisable acronym that you can teach your kids to help them stay as safe as possible!

• S - Stay in groups with your friends. If you're old enough to go trick or treating alone, you should always stay close to your friends. Go in groups wherever you go, and keep a buddy system to make sure nobody gets left behind somewhere! 
• T - Trust only friends and family. Do not go alone with a stranger at any point. When visiting a house to collect candy, if they ask you to go into their house, politely reply that you'd prefer to stay outside. Most people will understand that this is just a safety precaution and is not intended to hurt their feelings! 
• A - Avoid running from house to house! It's really tough to slow down when there's lots of candy to be had, but with many kids doing the same thing you may become part of a kid-collision! Think of it like driving on a street. Would you go really fast when it was very busy? 
• Y - Yell if a stranger tries to take you somewhere. It's important to remember that Halloween is, 99% of the time, a safe experience. You shouldn't be too afraid or else you're not going to have a good time. However, you should always be cautious of what's going on around you. If someone you don't know is pressuring you to go somewhere, yell at the top of your lungs "Help, this person is trying to take me!" 

• S - Stay away from candles and try to wear flame-resistant costumes! If you aren't wearing a flame-resistant outfit, just be sure to keep an eye out for candles. A cape or dress can easily catch on fire if you aren't paying attention! 
• A - Approach homes that are well-lit. If a home's walk and driveway are poorly lit, it's best just to avoid the house. When people want trick-or-treaters to come by, they usually make sure their house is well lit and that they look welcoming. 
• F - Focus on the traffic. In the excitement of free candy, it's easy to forget that people will still be driving their cars. Make sure you look both ways when crossing a street, and use crosswalks when they're available. 
• E - Eat your candy after your mom and dad have looked at it. It's easy to have a few nibbles of your well-earned loot before you head home, but some candy can make you sick. It's important to have your parents look at it first before you eat!

With these safety tips in mind and memorised by your kids, you can feel more secure that your children will be safe when they go out on Halloween!