“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.