Most agree that Halloween is a ghoulishly terrific night. However, in order for us to keep our kids “howling” with laughter and not tears, parents and caregivers need to take additional precautions to ensure a fun trick-or-treating experience.

Costumes: Be sure your child’s costume is age appropriate. Too many buttons and strings on baby or toddler’s costumes may present a choking hazard. Avoid any long tails or material hanging off costumes that may cause a child to trip or catch on fire if it gets too close to a lighted pumpkin. True, the high heeled Cinderella slippers that came with your five-year old’s costume look adorable on her; however, it’s best to trade them in for flat shoes that will help with safety and comfort. Consider using face paint instead of a mask. If the mask is a must, be sure the eye holes are big enough for them to see - if not cut them a little bigger. Costumes should be light colored or have reflective tape attached to it, to make your child easy to see. Carrying a flashlight is also a good idea.

Supervision: An adult should accompany all children throughout Trick-or-Treating. Don’t allow older kids to stay out late in the night. This the possibilities for trouble to brew and can be irritating to homeowners. Require that your teenagers go out in groups and explain to them that although they think pranks may be funny, they can hurt other children and damage property. Emphasize that you disapprove of vandalism.

Safety Rules: About a week before Halloween, talk with your children about obeying all usual traffic safety rules: look both ways before crossing the street, hold hands, cross only at cross walks, don’t dart into the street or cross between parked cars, stay on the porch - don’t go into any houses, etc. Give a quick reminder just before trick-or-treating, at this point they will be so excited about getting candy, their attention span won’t be very long.

Candy: Wait until you can look at the candy for tampering before you allow your child to eat any. Throw out anyd candy, or ones that are not in their original wrappers. Cut up fruit and carefully inspect homemade treats. Be sure it’s age appropriate also. Hard candy presents a possible choking hazard for children under 5 years old and should be discarded. Very chewy candy should also be avoided.

Haunting Your House: Turn on as many lights as possible for safety and to indicate that you are welcoming trick-or-treaters. Remove items from your yard that might present a hazard to visitors. Remember that you’ll be having many young visitors that get frightened by looking at the clothes hanging in their closets at night - don’t don any costumes that are frightening.

Driving: There may already be trick-or-treaters out when you are driving home from work. Remember to drive very slowly through neighborhoods and during the entire evening.

With just a little preparation Halloween can be a fun, rather than frightening, holiday. Happy Haunting!