Safety tips when out Trick or Treating with your kids

Halloween is a fun annual event but it can turn into a nightmare if you are not too careful. With lots of kids running around and at night at that, it is not impossible for some kids to get lost and some kidnapped.

Unfortunately, not all parents see the danger in these kinds of events. They feel that because their kids are just in the neighborhood, they can trump around anytime they wish and no harm will come to them. Besides, an adult is with them. But are being inside the a community and being with one adult already enough to ensure safety?

Here are some tips that you might want to go over before you send your little Dracula and Scarecrow out into the night.

1. Use the Buddy system
Make sure that there is one adult companion for every child. That way, they can be watched over. Having one adult companion against two kids can work but only if the adult is used to watching over two kids and that the other kid is a bit older, 8 year old and above. If you have two toddlers, better get two companions. One for each. They can be monsters.

2. Know who they are with
Adult constitutes not only the age but also the maturity. A 13-year-old teener can already be a sufficient companion for a 5-year old but not when the teener is wild and immature. Some teeners will leave their charges to fend for themselves while they go someplace else. Make sure that you know who your kids are with during the trick and treating. If it is a relative, make sure you give appropriate instructions. If it is a babysitter, make sure that you check the references.

3. Start early
Your kids do not really have to venture out at midnight. They can go to houses early, even when there is still light. This way, there will be less people around and thus, they will be easy to manage. If your kids balk at the idea, tell them that people will have more candies to give when they go to the homes early and besides, they can stay at home and help scare trick or treaters come midnight.

4. Bright costumes
Although being Dracula can be good, having them wear brighter and more noticeable costumes is better. This way, they will be more noticeable and less targets for people with sinister intentions. Children wearing bright costumes and those with colors stand out more in the crowd and therefore, less likely to be kidnapped or to get lost.

5. Use the companion belt
If you do not really have a choice and you promised the kids trick or treating, do not take care of them alone. Have some battle gear like a companion belt, which you can attach to your toddlers and then attach to your arm. That way, even when they roam around, you they are still within your reach. They don’t have far to go.