Safe Ways for Kids to Enjoy Halloween

The world's a much more dangerous place than it use to be, but yet the tradition of trick-or-treating house-to-house is still celebrated. This can worry a parent so why do it? Your child can have just as much fun with other Halloween-related events, and as a parent, you can feel better about your child's safety. This Halloween why not involve your child in activities that you have a little more control over.

Trick-or-treat at home
This idea works best if you have several neighbors that you can trust. Spread out areas around the house for your child to seek out treats. Set up tables in the basement, the family rooms, the front yard and the backyard in your house and whatever neighbor's house that you can trust. Get volunteers to dress up in costumes (to make it more interesting for your child) and give out goodies. Halloween candy is the most obvious choice, but you can also choose to give out other treats, small toys, or even money.

Work with your school
Solicit the help of your child's school to plan a Halloween event, on the night of Halloween, at the school. Children can dress up in their costumes as they normally would when trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, but they can visit each classroom for treats instead. The hallways can be lined tables offering Halloween-themed brownies, cakes, or cookies, to munch on that night and all the kids can end up in a community area like the gym or cafeteria for a event after tricking-or-treating is finished. Some ideas - a Halloween-themed dance, a Halloween play, or a Halloween movie shown and served with popcorn and other goodies.

Take 'em to church
Find out what activities are going on a your church. Marlton Assembly of God in Marlton, NJ, is holding a child's program (that runs every week) that requires the children to attend as a bible character. Treats will be served while discussing the bible and the people that lived during that time. It's will be a great way to get acquainted with biblical times, while having a little Halloween fun, and being safe. Find out what your church has planned on Halloween.

Plan a party
Open up your home to the your child's friends, whether they be from the neighborhood and/or from school. Center the theme of the party around your child's interests. If your daughter enjoys crafts and drawing, create a party with a scrap booking theme. The kids can make scrap booked album pages the can include space for photos taken during the evening. Or, if your son is interested in baseball, have a game in an open area and have the kids wear their costumes instead of uniforms. The main thing is to center the events around what your child does as a hobby.

Mall trick-or-treating
Retailers got smart a few years ago and opened up the mall to little goblins and ghosts on Halloween. Although trick-or-treating through the mall is a selfish act on the part of stores since it draws in parents who will shop will they are there, resulting in more money, they actually had a great idea. This way your kids get candy from shop workers who are less likely to hurt your kids since their company could get sued.

Whatever you decide to do with your child on Halloween, be sure they are well supervised. Don't forget to get Halloween candy inspected before they eat it and don't let them eat too much! Happy Halloween!