Halloween is only a couple of weeks away and Amy is already excited about choosing her Halloween costume and going trick or treating with her friends, but when you’re having fun it’s easy to overlook small things that could become dangerous. To ensure that you’re having a fun and safe Halloween, I’ve got 10 Halloween safety tips for you and your family.

10 Halloween Safety Tips for you and your family

Pumpkin Carving

Halloween wouldn’t be complete without a Jack O’Lantern, but please remember that young children should not be let loose with a carving knife. Let them draw a face on their pumpkin or let them scoop out the seeds, but leave the carving to an adult. Rather than using candles, buy battery operated tea lights and you can enjoy your Jack O’Lantern without a worry in the world.

Ditch the masks

Masks might look cool and make a great accessory for your kids’ Halloween costume, but they limit peripheral vision which can cause little ones to trip and fall. Cut bigger holes into the mask, if it’s absolutely essential for the costume or try face painting instead.

Beware the flames

Halloween costumes are easily flammable. When buying costumes, wigs or accessories for your kids look out for flame-resistant fabrics such as nylon or polyester. They don’t burn as easily and should extinguish quickly. To minimise the risk of catching fire avoid costumes made with flimsy materials and outfits with big sleeves or floaty skirts.

Remember your road safety rules

On Halloween, kids are super excited about being running around outside after dark and dressing up with their friends. Remind them about basic road safety rules such as looking both ways before crossing, walking on pavements/sidewalks only and walking slowly between houses.

Be visible

A lot of Halloween costumes are very dark, therefore make sure you and your kids are visible when you go trick or treating. An easy way to increase visibility is holding a torch/flashlight at all times or adding reflective tape to your kids’ costumes. Glow sticks can be worn as necklaces or bracelets too.

Join the fun

While you might not be the biggest Halloween fan, it’s important that an adult accompanies younger children at all times. Why not dress up yourself to add to the fun?

Halloween Safety Tips for teens and tweens

Teens and tweens should only go trick or treating with a group of friends and follow a pre-approved route. Make sure they know their curfew and have a charged mobile phone on them, so they can contact you in an emergency. A Halloween safety tip for very anxious parents is to install an app like Family Signal on your kids and your phone. You can track where your kids are at all times and they can press a panic button to call for help.

Keep your distance

This does not only count for pets but also for people you don’t know. Tell your kids to only ever accept treats at someone’s door and never to enter houses of strangers.

Watch what you eat

As tempting as it might be for kids to tuck into their loot while you’re still out, wait until you’re home and check everything before you let your kids eat it. Throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items as well as homemade goodies from people you don’t know.

Not everyone’s a fan of Halloween

Not everyone is a fan of Halloween. If people don’t have a Jack O’Lantern in front of their house or they don’t answer the door, it’s best to move on and not disturb them. You don’t want to upset your neighbours and get in trouble with them over a couple of sweets/candy.

Which Halloween safety rules do you follow in your family? Have you got specific Halloween safety tips for older children? Please, share them with us in the comments below and stay safe x

Images by Alejandro Tuñón Alonso and Oz Lang via Flickr.