Will Your Kids Be Safe This Halloween?

With Halloween just days away, parents all around the country are preparing their children and their homes for the excitement of trick-or-treating. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) estimates that as many as 94 percent of kids aged 4 to 12 participate in Halloween activities each year.

However, it’s not all fun and games. During Halloween, there is a significant increase in the number of burns, falls, and pedestrian injuries to children. Parents need to take extra precautions to help their kids avoid injuries, as well as the dangers of being out on the streets at night amongst strangers.

Here are a few tips from NCMEC that parents should keep in mind as they escort their little ones out this year.

• Choose a bright, flame retardant costume, or add reflective tape so children can be seen in the dark.
• Plan your trick-or-treating route in on familiar, well-lighted streets.
• Always accompany young kids. Walk them up to the door to receive treats, and don’t let kids enter a home unless you are with them.
• Discuss basic pedestrian safety rules with your children to keep them safe while walking to and from houses.
• Teach kids to yell out, “No!” or “This is not my mother/father” if someone tries to get them to go somewhere.

Teach your children that they should report any suspicious activity to you, another trusted adult, or law enforcement. NCMEC reminds parents that child safety is important all year, but that Halloween is an especially important time for parents and kids to not let their guards down. For more Halloween safety tips, check out NCMECs list of Ten Things Parents Can Do To Make Halloween Safer.