31 Days of Halloween Day 7: Trick or Treat...

What would 31 days of Halloween be without some trick or treat safety tips? I'll be (hopefully) doing some baking today so look for some more cupcake ideas this week.

Millions of children trick or treat every year. Children probably walk on the streets more on Halloween then any of day of the year (although I do not have any statistics on that). That's why you need to take ever precaution that you can, so that your children will be safe on this spooktacular night.

Trick or Treat Safety Tip #1: Glow sticks

On a dark Halloween night, your children need to stand out somehow. Glow sticks can accomplish this perfectly and can work into almost any Halloween costume. Glow sticks come in sticks that you bend into a bracelet, necklace, or form a circle to wear on your head. They even have glow sticks that are in a pendant shape on a string that you can wear around your neck. For your little princess or fairy, they have a glow stick star wand. Our local dollar store had a wide glow stick selection and yours may too.

Trick or Treat Safety Tip #2: Travel in Groups

As I'm sure you've heard, there is safely in numbers. If you're out trick or treating, it may be harder for drivers to see a couple of people crossing the street at night but if you had a group of 5 or more people, you'd stand out better. Make sure to have some sort of system when you cross the street. Maybe have the older siblings hold the hands of their younger ones with an adult leading the front of the pack and an adult at the back.

Trick or Treat Safety Tip #3: Flashlight`

The streets get pretty dark at night and their aren't always lamp posts on every corner so some patches of the street may be hard to see while you're walking. You don't want someone to unexpectedly trip over something or worse, get lost from the group. To help avoid this, a flashlight could provide the light you need. You can have a regular flash light or retail stores sell Halloween flashlights that are decorated for the season. You might want to remind your children not to shine their flashlight into anyone's eyes or onto driving cars. If your child doesn't want to be loaded down with a flashlight the parent could carry it and light the way.

Trick or Treat Safety Tip #4: Cell Phone

On Halloween, when everyone is having fun, unfortunately something unexpected could happen. If your child gets injured somehow while they're trick or treating, then you will want to call someone immediately. Take your cell phone if you have one for those unexpected moments. If you're wearing a costume and have no where to put a phone them sew a little pocket on the inside of your costume to store your phone. It will be worth the effort if you end up needing it. If you have older children that are going out trick or treating alone then I'd definitely make sure that they have a cell phone. If you don't have a cell phone, try to travel with someone that does.

Trick or Treat Safety Tip #5: Make sure you check your children's candy before they eat it!

As sad as it sounds, you can't trust people as much these days. Make sure you check your children's Halloween candy before they start eating it. If a wrapper looks even a little bit funny, throw it away immediately. It's best to wait until you get home before you start eating the candy but if your child simply can't wait, then use your flashlight to look over a piece of candy. I don't recommend allowing your child to eat a sucker while they're trick or treating because if they fall, they could be injured by the sucker's stick.

If you follow any of the safety tips listed in this article, it will make your Halloween a lot safer and will give you some piece of mind while your children trick or treat this year.

To see other 31 days of Halloween articles, please click the 31 days of Halloween tag.

Happy Halloween!