Don't Be a Helicopter for Halloween!

🎃 Halloween is great time to get outdoors and enjoy your friends, family and neighbors. 🏠

The best way to keep the fun safe all night long is to review Trick or Treating GROUND RULES with your kids and/or the whole group BEFORE everyone heads out!

💁‍♀️Here are a few ideas of what to say:

🍬Remind and practice Halloween manners: Greet others with "trick or treat" or "happy Halloween" and make sure to say "Thank you."

🍭Match your child up with a buddy. There is safety in numbers.

🍬Tell them to never walk away with a stranger or in a group of kids that they don't know. (A good rule of thumb is that after each house, your child should make eye contact with you. This ensures that you're both paying attention to each other. Additionally, you can put a neon band on them and on yourself so you are easily found by each other.)

🍭Don't grab. From a candy bowl or from others baskets!

🍬Some families have a limit for how much candy can be eaten on Halloween night. If you have this rule, make sure to communicate it and that your child understands.

Once the groundwork has been laid, you don't have to be a "helicopter" to your kids! It's a great opportunity to give your kids a bit of freedom and flexibility to practice their independence and social skills.

🎃 It's Halloween and most kids have been excited about this night for a long time, so be flexible, keep it light and have fun!