No promises, but I'll try to do better. If you check in daily -- don't waste your time. Ain't gonna happen. The newsletters are still rather active though. BTW: If you haven't visited Parent to Parent lately, jump over and come back. We still have some awesome contests up for your kids and who knows - maybe your little kiddo might be a winner of a $100.00 AMC Movie Gift Card! WHOOHOO! Check out the other contests including one just for fun for **MOMS** -- have you heard of the new baby phonics craze? This specific contest is related to Mallory Lewis' new Phonics 4 Babies DVD: Baby's First Words. (Which I happen to love!) The first DVD in this amazing series, has already won several awards, including SIX from Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award! Now, that's pretty darn hard to do! GO MALLY!
OK - on to Halloween Safety Tips!
Parents are always concerned with issues that can crop up on the eve of Halloween. From toddlers to teens, something always seems to go astray. Here's a few safety tips that might ease a parents' mind, should one decide to follow them.
Keeping Your Kids Safe During Halloween!
There are few holidays that conjure up as much excitement in kids as Halloween. Along with it comes great anticipation of trick-or-treat activities…more treats than tricks!
Needless to say, there are some real threats to the safety of our kids during this high profiled experience. To make this vastly projected event run smoothly and to keep everyone safe, here are a few tips that parents need to consider and talk about beforehand with their kids.
Have your children dressed in aged appropriate costumes. Make it large enough to wear one layer of normal clothing underneath for warmth, but if it’s too big or long, they can easily trip and hurt themselves. Make sure all materials are fire-retardant.
Be sure that it has a retro reflective strip placed between the shoulders and knees to alert drivers on the street and other kids, especially large groups. Should the costume not have these types of panels woven into the material, retro reflective tape can be bought just for this purpose.
No running. Tell your children there will be no running allowed. Falling down is one of the number one injuries of children during trick-or-treating. Have them stay on sidewalks and/or walk facing traffic if there are none.
Do not allow them to cross yards. Even though many people keep their lights on during the evening, most of the time, they do not shine over the entire yard. There could be something in the yard that could trip or hurt your child. In fact, sometimes, there are holes or low points in the lawn that cannot be avoided.
Stay with children under the age of 12. If your child is younger than 12, stay with them. If you are allowing them to go with another adult other than yourself, be sure that your child knows the name of that person and vice versa. It’s always a good idea to have the name of your child, address and phone number written on a piece of paper and tucked away in a pocket or pinned to their costume on the inside of the waist. Remember, when a child is excited, frightened or hurt, they forget facts. Tell them what the piece of paper is, what it says, why it is there and when to use it.
Monitor toddlers and young children for putting things in their mouth. Keep an eye on toddlers and young children as they try to begin eating their candy right away. As a rule of thumb, it is best for none of the kids to eat any treat until someone has gone through it. However, with little ones, they will instantly put goodies into their mouths, wrapper and all, possibly provoking a choking hazard.
Establish a safe route and return time. Draw up a simple map of your neighborhood and mark-approved houses with a red marker. These should be people that you know and trust. Give them a time of when to return home and have a “no room for discussion” rule.
Use face paint instead of masks. Face paint is now preferred by most safety agencies as the safest way to dress up the face for Halloween. Be sure the paint meets the Federal Standards of Cosmetics in order to prevent possible rashes or use a homemade recipe where you know which ingredients have been used. If you do go with a mask, be sure that the holes for the eyes, mouth and nose are open enough to avoid safety challenges in seeing, talking and breathing.
It's a special night so monitor your children closely by supervising the younger ones or as a sidewalk supervisor by "hanging out" with the older ones from a distance. Stay safe and have fun.
©2007 Jodie Lynn
Jodie Lynn is an award-winning, internationally syndicated family/health columnist and host of the new radio talk show "Inside Parenting Success." Her syndicated column Parent to Parent (www.ParentToParent.com) has been successful for more than a decade and appears in various newspapers, magazines, parenting publications, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to several sites and has written four books and contributed to three others, one of which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. In addition, Lynn has appeared in a 3-month parenting segment on NBC. Her latest books are Mom CEO (Chief Everything Officer) - Having, Doing, and Surviving It All! and Syndication Secrets - What No One Will Tell You!
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