Halloween can be a spooky and exciting time for children and parents alike. As kiddies grow into adolescents, it is almost a guarantee that they will want more independence than ever before. When they reach those prime tween-age years, they may get choosier with their costume or no longer want to go trick-or-treating with mom, dad and younger siblings. But, as a parent, how do you know when it is safe to let your child trick-or-treat alone?
Even though Halloween night is a holiday full of planned frights, we all know that the world can be scary 365 days a year. There is no reason Halloween should not be fun and exciting for all, but there are some measures that you can take to make sure your children stay safe when venturing out without you this year.
Background check
With a simple online search, you can see the exact addresses of all the people with felony convictions and the sexual offenders in your neighborhood. With this information, you can forewarn your tween and his friends to avoid these houses when they are trick-or-treating without you.
Plan their route
Make sure that you and your tween are on the same page with the trick-or-treating route they are going to take. Get a map of your neighborhood and sit down with him before they leave. Trace the path that they need to take and emphasize the importance of sticking to it. This way, if anything happens, you know where they should be.
Check in regularly
Most tweens can hardly be separated from their cellphones for even a minute. This becomes especially useful on nights like Halloween. If you are going to let your child trick-or-treat alone, set a scheduled check-in time for every 20–30 minutes to see how they are doing and where they are in the neighborhood. Make sure to get the phone numbers of the children that they will be with.
If your child is not the best about texting back, all iPhones have an app called “Find Friends.” With this app, your child can go to his text message feed that they have with you and click the “I” in the upper right-hand corner. Then they can click “share my location” and select the time period for which they want to share his location with you. Then you can just go to your “Find Friends” app and see his real-time location in your neighborhood. This is sure way to give you some peace of mind.
Use your judgement
Ultimately, you know your child better than anyone else. You know how mature they are and how much trouble they can get themself into. You also know how safe your neighborhood is on any given day. If you feel that your child is old enough to be responsible and make smart choices, then they should be fine to go trick-or-treating alone. Do not forget to remind him to never go inside a stranger’s home and always use the buddy system. Also encourage them to not eat ANY candy until they are home safe and you can check every piece to make sure it has not been tampered with.
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