Here are five simple ways to keep your children safe while they're out trick or treating this Halloween. Visit DesMoinesRegister.com for more safety tips.
Follow these guidelines for safe trick-or-treating:
- Use nontoxic face paint instead of a mask.
- If children must wear masks, make sure they can see and breathe easily.
- Costumes should be made of nonflammable material.
- There should be a reflective band or tape on costumes so children are easily seen.
- Keep costumes short enough that kids won't trip on them.
- Props should be made of plastic, foam board or cardboard, with no sharp edges or points.
- Use treat bags with handles so kids can keep their arms free.
- Use flashlights to light your way, not candles.
More on Beggars' Night in central Iowa:
- When is Beggars' Night?
- Why Des Moines has Beggars' Night
- Cold weather can’t chill Halloween spirit for Iowa kids
More safety tips:
- Kids should never eat candy before a parent has examined it. Parents should check candy to ensure the wrapper has not been tampered with.
- Treats not commercially wrapped should not be eaten.
- A parent or older teen sibling should accompany younger children.
- Parents or teens, not children, should hand out candy at home.
- Trick-or-treaters should walk in groups of no more than four or five kids to make it easier for the adult to keep track of them.
- Know the adult your child is with.
- Only go to homes that have porch lights turned on.
- Don't enter strangers' homes.
- Use sidewalks; don't cut across lawns.
Source: Polk County Sheriff's Office
Get to know the origin of Des Moines' pre-Halloween tradition called "Beggars' Night."
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