Being safe while trick-or-treating

Published 9:57 pm Sunday, October 29, 2017

On Sunday afternoon at Sweetland Amphitheatre as the tents and booths from the chili cookoff were being packed up, hundreds of children were in line to take park in treat-or-treating in the arena’s parking lot.

Children of all ages took part in a safe way to celebrate the holiday.

It was hard to tell who was smiling more, the children receiving buckets full of candy or the people who were spending their afternoon in the cold to make a child’s day.

It also served as a reminder of how great Halloween can be when everything is handled safely. We’ve written about this one time recently, but with Halloween now upon us, it feels important to remind parents one more time about keeping children safe as they trick or treat.

Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit organization that is working to prevent childhood injuries, has several safety tips on its website to keep kids safe while trick-or-treating.

The first tip is to use reflective tape or stickers so that passerbys can see them if they are out in the dark. It’s not always possible to do so, but buying a costume with bright colors is also helpful. Masks can help finish off a costume, but in the dark they can also make it even harder for a child to see, so keep that in mind.

If children have a dark costume, using glow sticks or flashlights can help them be seen.

SafeKids also recommends that children under 12 should not be alone at night without adult supervision. Even older kids shouldn’t leave areas they are familiar with when they go out to trick-or-treat.

We all want our kids to have fun this time of the year.

Halloween is one of the most enjoyable nights of the year, and we’re sure many families are looking forward to it. We just want to make sure they do their trick-or-treating safely.