Getting ready for Halloween?

Read these smart tips to help your family enjoy a safe Halloween this season.

• General Safety Tips - What every parent should know before sending their kids trick-or-treating
• Before Halloween - Simple steps to get prepared for Halloween night
• Trick-or-Treat Safety Tips - Basic ground rules to keep your kids safe while they are out
• Protect Your Pets - Some tips to keep your pets happy and healthy on Halloween night
• After Trick-or-Treating - Helpful tips after your kids get home from trick-or-treating

General Safety Tips

• To help prevent children from munching, give them a snack or light meal before they go don't send them out on an empty stomach.
• Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren't going with them.
• If you can't take them, see if another parent or a teenaged sibling can go along.
• Set a time that kids should be home by. Make sure they know how important it is for them to be home on time.
• Explain to children the difference between tricks and vandalism. If kids are caught vandalizing, make them clean up the mess.
• Explain to kids that animal cruelty is not acceptable. Kids may know this on their own but peer pressure can be a bad thing.
• Stop only at familiar houses in your own neighborhood, unless children are accompanied by an adult.

Before Halloween

• Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
• A Halloween mask can limit or block eyesight. Consider non-toxic and hypoallergenic makeup or a decorative hat as a safe alternative.
• When shopping for costumes and accessories, purchase only those labeled flame resistant.
• Check for flower pots, low tree limbs, support wires or garden hoses that may prove hazardous to young children rushing from house to house.
• Obtain flashlights with fresh batteries for all children and their escorts.
• Teach children their home phone number and to how call 9-1-1 if they have an emergency or become lost. Remind them that 9-1-1 can be dialed free from any phone.

Trick-or-Treat Safety Tips

• Let your children know not to cut through yards, back alleys and fields. Stay in well lighted areas.
• Instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to be examined by you.
• Instruct your child to never go into the home of a stranger or get into their car.
• Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflectors /reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars.
• Secure emergency identification (name, address, phone number) discreetly within Halloween attire or on a bracelet.
• Older children and escorts should wear a wristwatch and carry a cell phone or coins for non-emergency phone calls.

Protect Your Pets

Leaving your pets outside on Halloween is not a god idea. Sadly, there are tales of those who will do harm to your beloved animal. Not to mention that dogs and cats can scare easily with all the trick-or-treaters coming to your house. Here are some tips to keep your pets happy on Halloween.

• Avoid leaving your pets outside in the backyard on Halloween night so they don’t become a victim to the occasional prankster or foul play.
• As much as your dog or cat may beg for some of your Halloween candies, always remember that chocolate can be dangerous to them in any amount.
• Ingested candy wrappers can make pets ill or cause death. Don’t leave candy around in reach of your pet.
• Don't leave any lighted candles or Jack-O-Lanterns where they could be knocked over by a dog’s swinging tail or by a curious cat.
• While costumes are fun for people, be aware that your pets could feel discomfort or stressed if you try to dress them.

After Trick-or-Treating

• Examine all treats and throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items.
• Throw out all candy or treats that are homemade.
• Apportion treats past Halloween.
• Make sure items that can cause choking (such as hard candies), are given only to those of an appropriate age.