Mighty Mommy, Halloween Safety Tips

Hey there! You're listening to The Mighty Mommy's Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting Today's Topic: Haunting Holiday Hints     Halloween Safety Tips You've probably noticed by now that I am not the Mighty Mommy. I am the husband of the Mighty Mommy and I'm also the Daddy around here. I'm filling in for Mighty Mommy this week because she has lost her voice due to illness. I thought it would be fun to help her with this episode and I hope you enjoy it as well. Besides, I love this time of year and it seems like an interesting topic to me. Now is the time for you to prepare yourself and your children for Halloween. Here are some tips to keep your kids safer while celebrating this holiday. You may be either buying or making your children's costumes. Whichever the case, you should keep the costumes as light-colored as possible. Dark fabrics are harder to see at night. The more visible you can make your children, the better. You can also add reflective tape to your children's costumes to increase visibility. Older children can carry flashlights and chemically lighted glow-sticks. You can also have children wear lighted, glowing bracelets. Check flashlight batteries before heading out. Fresh batteries are the best option if you are unsure as to the amount of power currently remaining. Making sure your children can see where they are going is just as important as making sure they are seen. Avoid costumes with masks which can block areas of vision. If certain costumes do include masks, ask your children to keep the masks off during the travel time between houses. They can replace their masks immediately before announcing their arrival. Make comfortable walking shoes mandatory for all children even if the shoes don't match the costume. Also make sure that none of the costumes' hems fall below mid-ankle. It is hazardous enough simply walking around in the dark without having to worry about tripping over your costume. I also recommend that children avoid carrying any type of toy weapon, especially a realistic looking one. If the costume just isn't complete without the weapon, make sure it's soft and flexible to avoid injury. A couple more good ideas that have been shared with me about costumes are to choose a costume with flame retardant material and to put identification information inside the costume. You can sew a label on the inside of the costume with your name, address, and phone number in case of emergency. Keep this information in a discreet place. It should not be in view of the general public. All children should be escorted by at least one responsible adult. If you feel your children are old enough to trick-or-treat on their own, you might want to consider if they are too old for this activity. Of course different regions, neighborhoods, tradition and of course, the maturity of the children should all be taken into consideration. When I was a kid I remember being permitted to trick-or-treat unescorted prior to the age of  13. I don't know if it's because times have changed or parents simply weren't as concerned back then, but I would absolutely not allow my children to trick-or-treat without an adult escort. This is a decision you'll need to make when your children become more independent. Before your children are ready to head out in search of treats, talk to them about safety. Let them know what type of behavior is expected of them. Saying “thank you” is always appreciated, but also talk to your kids about the dangers of rough-housing, playing or running in the street, and trespassing. Advise you children against eating treats prior to returning home as all treats will need to be reviewed for safety prior to consumption. Remind them not to touch other people's personal property or decorations. Your children should never go into someone's home even if invited. They should only ring a doorbell or knock once and only visit homes which are clearly occupied and accepting visitors. Dark houses are not welcoming trick-or-treaters and should not be visited. Ask your children to leave their wheels at home. Roller-skates, skateboards, and bicycles are not safe modes of transportation for trick-or-treating. When the streets are filled with children of all sizes, these items can be hazardous for both the walkers and the riders. Finally, I recommend that your children or their adult escorts carry either a cell phone or a two-way radio with enough range to reach home. Make sure that all parties involved are aware of the expected return time and have a watch so they can keep an eye on the time and arrive home as expected. I have many more tips I would like to share regarding Halloween safety in your own home and a few ideas to share about the holiday celebration in general, but I can't cover it all in one show so next week, I'll be talking more about it. That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed listening. I'd love to hear from you. If you would like to request a topic for the Mighty Mommy, or if you'd like to share a wonderful tip of your own, you can e-mail mommy@qdnow.com or leave a message at 206-222-9148. Also, if you haven't already done so, please take a moment to post a review at iTunes. I'd really appreciate it. The Mighty Mommy's Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network at quickanddirtytips.com. This week Grammar Girl is talking about “It is I” versus “It is me,” so be sure to check out her podcast! This is your friend the Mighty Mommy wishing you happy and fun parenting! Music – “Golly Gee” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 2.0" http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/