Halloween Safety Tips (cont'd)

Avoid wearing masks while walking from house to house.
• Carry only flexible knives, swords or other props.
• (If no sidewalk) walk on the left side of the road facing traffic
• Wear clothing with reflective markings or tape.
• Approach only houses that are lit.
• Stay away from and don't pet animals you don't know.

Parents
• Make your child eat dinner before setting out.
• Children should carry quarters so they can call home.
• Ideally, young children of any age should be accompanied by an adult.
• If your children go on their own, be sure they wear a watch, preferably one that can be read in the dark.
• If you buy a costume, look for one made of flame-retardant material.
• Older children should know where to reach you and when to be home.
• You should know where they're going.
• Although tampering is rare, tell children to bring the candy home to be inspected before consuming anything.
• Look at the wrapping carefully and toss out anything that looks suspect.

Homeowners
• Make sure your yard is clear of such things as ladders, hoses, dog leashes and flower pots that can trip the young ones.
• Pets get frightened on Halloween. Put them up to protect them from cars or inadvertently bitting a trick-or-treater.
• Battery powered jack o'lantern candles are preferable to a real flame.
• If you do use candles, place the pumpkin well away from where trick-or-treaters will be walking or standing.
• Make sure paper or cloth yard decorations won't be blown into a flaming candle.
• Healthy food alternatives for trick-or-treaters include packages of low-fat crackers with cheese or peanut butter filling, single-serve boxes of cereal, packaged fruit rolls, mini boxes of raisins and single-serve packets of low-fat popcorn that can be microwaved later.
• Non-food treats: plastic rings, pencils, stickers, erasers, coins.

Some tips provided by www.sosnet.com