Halloween can be a scary night for parents as well as kids.  While kids may be scared of costumes, parents have a list of other fears, and safety is always the first priority. The fun of Fright Night, however, does not need to be compromised to ensure a safe and enjoyable Halloween. Here are my top tips for parents on the safety issues I am most frequently asked about at the Head Witch of Four Boys Industries.  

1. Keeping kids safe while trick-or-treating

Make a map of your neighborhood a few nights before Halloween with routes and homes you will visit with your kids.

Plan ahead! We make a map of our neighborhood a few nights before Halloween of the route we will take and the homes we will visit. This way, my kids have a mental image (and a cool physical one) of our path. We also have a plan, so that if someone gets lost, they can locate the homes of our close friends, where they can go to for help. In addition, we arm our kids with cool flashlights and glow sticks.

Tip: We make 2 kids "buddies," and they travel together.

2. Candy safety: All Halloween sweets should be inspected by parents  

All candy that kids get while Trick-or-Treating must come home and get inspected by Mom and Dad.

Candy is an essential element to Halloween, after all, what would Halloween be without trick-or-treating? As my son once asked me, why can we accept candy from anyone on Halloween, but I am NEVER allowed to take candy from strangers the other 364 days of the year? Good point! We have a policy that they can take as much candy as the house they are trick-or-treating at offers, but they may not eat ANY candy on the trick-or-treat path. All candy must come home and get inspected by Mom and Dad. This is a tough rule to hold firm on.  

Tip: I usually slip a few pieces of “approved candy” into costume pockets, if we are on an especially long trick-or-treat night.

3. Allergy safety on Halloween night

If your kid has a food allergy, make sure to inspect their Halloween Treats before they eat them.

Like many families around the world, we have some severe food allergies in my house. We need to prepare and combat this situation from many angles. First, we always have costumes with gloves (think Darth Vader or princess gloves) to protect against touching candy with allergens (like peanuts). If the gloves are thin cotton, we just slip a latex glove on underneath. Second, we have hard and fast rules on Halloween that all candy must go in the bucket and get inspected at home. In our neighborhood, a

Teal Pumpkin

outside means that the  home also has non-food treats! These are our favorites!

Tip: Using Switch Witch and the Magic of Switchcraft during the month of October, helps oversee good behavior. On Halloween night, our kids keep a few pieces of "approved" candy and the rest goes to the Switch Witch. Everyone wins!

Having fun on Halloween night means knowing the risks you and your kids face, and coming up with a plan to combat them! Hope these suggestions help!

About our guest blogger

Audrey Kinsman, Author
‍Audrey Kinsman is a mother, Entrepreneur and author of the Switch Witch and the Magic of Switchcraft which is available at Target stores nationwide and online. A former Goldman Sachs Investment banker, Audrey works full time in Private Equity and launched her own publishing company to release her book.

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