Keeping Your Boos Safe This Halloween

Halloween is an especially exciting time of year for youth. For many, they’ve spent weeks deciding what they’ll be, designing costumes, and planning for Halloween parties. As exhilarating as it is, this season can also bring a lot of worry surrounding safety. Here you will find tips on how to prepare your children for Halloween night, from the little ones to the teens.

What to wear? 

Now, these suggestions are not intended to police creative expression, but to ensure functionality and proper identification of youth. 

Fit and function: When selecting a costume, I encourage you to consider all its components--the clothes, helmets, weaponry, shoes, and so forth. Ask yourself:

Are the accessories too heavy for my child’s size? 

Do they obstruct vision or breathing?

Do they interfere with their ability to walk, or even run, as needed? 

When masks are frequently sliding down faces and straps constantly need adjustments, this isn’t just frustrating but also increases the risk of injuries like tripping on pavements and running into structures or people. Costumes should not impact your child’s ability to move with ease. 

Watchfulness and identification: Outside of injury, the obstruction of view can make it more difficult for the child to identify those around them. Children tend to move about quickly from station to station, or house to house, with excitement, anticipating their favorite treats. In a crowd full of like-dressed children rushing along, it can be nerve-wracking for you. You may want to consider adding unique patterns or additions to their costume for easy identification, like fluorescent tape, bright colored bows, custom patches, or other symbols that have meaning to you. For children deemed mature or old enough to trick-or-treat without a guardian, I strongly suggest they travel with a group and have a set route and time in place for parent check-ins. Each child should be equipped with a light source (flashlight, cell phone, glow sticks, reflective gear) to be easily seen by vehicles and taught not to consume “homemade” or opened treats. 

Perception: Rather than taking the animal or ghost approach, many youths gravitate toward their favorite superhero (or villain), which may come with swords, guns, and knives. These accessories may make the costume “pop” and beam with realism; however, I encourage you to consider how these accessories may be perceived by the public. Unfortunately, realistic-looking weapons can be perceived as the real thing and raise concern in those around you. I implore you to substitute realistic weapons with clearly fake ones to deter misperception and potentially tragic incidents. 

While your child should be mindful of how others are perceiving them, it is also crucial that they are aware of others and potential dangers. Children should be made aware of “safe zones”. Trick-or-treating from outside is acceptable, but they should never enter a stranger’s home to retrieve candy. This could also be an opportunity to revisit the rules of COVID, encouraging them to remain at a safe distance and to maintain personal boundaries. As mentioned above, children should understand the buddy/group system to participate in trick-or-treating. It is better to miss out on some candy than to visit a home alone. 

Party Safety

So, how about not-so-little children who have graduated from walking the neighborhood to attending house parties with friends? Here are some things you should know before they go:

Who is hosting the party? Will an adult be supervising?

How is your child getting to the event? Home from the event?

What time is the event set to start and end?

Once you have gathered this information, decide if you are comfortable allowing them to attend. If yes, there are a few essential things they should know—for example, when and how you expect to hear from them and the consequences of not following your expectations. Like any other Halloween event, they should be mindful of the foods and drinks offered, not consuming anything that appears to be tampered with or unfamiliar. They should also be reminded to refuse substances and stand firm against peer pressure, using “No” as a full sentence and walking away from uncomfortable situations. I strongly recommend developing an emergency or exit plan if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe at the event. This plan should include who to contact and where to go, if an option is available in the area. Finally, it should be made clear what will happen if your rules are not followed, like not being permitted to attend events for a while, for example. 

Final thoughts

From the youngest trick-or-treaters to the oldest ones, they all need guidance to ensure that the day is as fun and productive as they expect. We can’t control every moment, but we can build them up to be mindful, observant, and vigilant individuals to ensure that while having a day of fun, they are making safe choices.