Halloween is on October 31

“Trick or treat” (Photo – istockphoto)

Halloween safety tips
Adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Nila Gopaul

• Listen to “Halloween safety tips”
  Reading by Nila Gopaul

Halloween is on October 31.
Trick-or-treating is a Halloween custom in Canada.
On this day, many children dress in costumes.
In the evening, children go to houses.*
They knock on doors
or ring bells.

Children say “trick or treat”!
Then neighbours give children candy
and children say, “thank you”.

Safety tips for trick-or-treating

• Children should wear light-colored costumes,
  or glow-in-the-dark tape
  to the costume’s front and back.
• Carry flashlights with new batteries.
• Only go to houses with porch lights on
  and walk on sidewalks on lit streets.
• Never go into strangers’ homes or cars.
• Don’t buy a costume unless it’s labeled “flame-retardant.”

Candy

• When your children get home,
  check all treats.
  Make sure they’re safely sealed.

Other trick-or-treat safety tips:
Click each photo to read the Halloween safety tips.

*A note to parents:
Younger children trick-or-treat
with their parents.
But many older children want to trick-or-treat
with their friends.

Some parents say 13 years old is a good age
to trick-or-treat with friends.
Others say 12 years old is fine.
Other parents also say nine or 10 years old is a good age.

A few days before Halloween,
sit down with your older children.
Plan a map where they will go for trick-or-treating.

Choose an area that:

• Is safe
• Has sidewalks
• Is in a neighborhood you know
• Is well-lit
• Is highly populated, and
• Is familiar to them.
• Make sure children have a cell phone.
  Make sure the battery is fully-charged.
• Call your children.
  Check to see that they have stayed in the area.