Stay Safe With Tigger #9

I don't want to find out about any Halloween mishaps from my friends! So here are some Halloween safety tips (from the www.halloween-safety.com/ website, slightly edited and a couple things added.):

 

~Help your child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make it fire proof, with eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision.

 

~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 kids costumes won't accidentally be set on fire.

 

~Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on. They should be TOY ones, NOT real ones!

 

~Kids always want to help with the pumpkin carving. Small children shouldn't be allowed to use a sharp knife to cut the top or the face. There are many kits available that come with tiny saws that work better then knives and are safer, although you can be cut by them as well. It's best to let the kids clean out the pumpkin and draw a face on it, which you can carve for them.

 

~Treating your kids to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them.

 

~Children should go out trick-or-treating during daylight hours only unless accompanied by a responsible adult.

 

~Plan a safe trick-or-treat route so parents know where their older kids will be at all times. Set a time for their return home. Make sure that your child is old enough and responsible enough to go out by themselves.

 

~Let your children know not to cut through back alleys and fields. Make sure they know to stay in populated places and don't go off the beaten track. Stay in well lighted areas.

 

~Stop to trick-or-treat only at familiar houses in your own neighborhood --this is a good idea even if children ARE accompanied by an adult.

 

~Small children should never be allowed to go out alone on Halloween. Make sure an older sibling or adult is with them.

 

~Instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to be examined by you.

 

~Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars.

 

~Let them know that they should stay together as a group if going out to Trick or Treat without an adult. No child should go trick or treating entirely alone.

 

~Teaching your kids basic everyday safety such as not getting into cars or talking to strangers, watching both ways before crossing streets and crossing when the lights tell you to, will help make them safer when they are out Trick or Treating.

 

~Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as parties, school or mall functions.

 

~ Explain to children the difference between tricks and vandalism. Throwing eggs at a house may seem like fun but they need to know the other side of the coin as well, clean up and damages can ruin Halloween. If they are caught vandalizing, make them clean up the mess they've made.

 

~In many communities, "Family fun Nights" are offered at churches or schools or other places as safer alternatives to Trick-or-Treating. Or sometimes the local mall may offer trick or treat in the stores. This is often a much safer (and sometimes more fun) choice, especially when you have small children.

 

Done