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Hailing from the North American belief that passed souls should be remembered and acknowledged (or else, risk having them play a trick on you!), the tradition of trick-or-treating is becoming increasingly popular here in Australia. Although the customary tradition is meant for a little good-natured Halloween fun, it’s important that care is taken when you let your children take to the streets – lolly baskets in tow – as traffic and stranger danger are significant risks.

We’ve put together our safety tips on keeping your children safe this Halloween so they need only worry about treats and not potential dangers or injury.
 
1. Planning
Whether you’ll be accompanying your kids or not, take the time to plan out their trick-or-treating route so you know where they’re heading. Pre-walking the route together will put your kids at ease too, providing familiarity come October 31st. It’s also a good idea to remind your children of any trusted neighbours they can go to should they feel unsafe around any strangers.
 
2. Costume Visibility
Brightly coloured and decorated costumes will make your kids more visible at night. As it gets darker, having a light coloured or even reflective costume will make it easier to be seen by drivers. Having kids use glow sticks is a fun idea too!
 
3. Group Safety
If you’re letting your children trick-or-treat on their own, make sure they have a group of friends together to ensure safety in numbers if a trusted adult isn’t available.
 
4. Treats
Make sure your children only accept store-wrapped sweets and not homemade treats made by strangers. Food allergies as well as hygiene are important to keep in mind during trick-or-treating.
 
5. Home video monitoring
While trick-or-treating is meant for some light-hearted fun, sometimes it can go array with cheeky children pranking homes. Video monitoring all year round, but especially at Halloween, will ensure you capture any potential damage from tricks-gone-wrong and can keep an eye on things while you’re  safe inside!

Stranger Danger is an important element of child safety and one of the first things we teach kids about both at-home and outdoor safety. Making children aware of what strangers are, what isn’t acceptable and what to do in dangerous situations is essential to help them feel confident and not fearful.

Read below for our top tips on teaching your children about stranger danger.
  
Play out scenarios
One really effective way to teach your child about stranger safety is through the use of role-playing. Play out different scenarios, such as a stranger asking if your child wants a lift home, or someone the child knows saying something that makes him or her feel uncomfortable. Teach your children to identify a bad situation and let you know immediately.
 
Point out safe places and people
It is important that your child knows where to go or who to talk to if he or she is in a situation where they feel uncomfortable, but you’re not around. Show your child where the police station is, or crowded shopping centres, and point out policemen, firemen and teachers. Let your child know that is okay to approach those people when they feel in danger.
 
Repetition
Repetition is key. Get your child to repeat your phone number and the emergency number, to make sure they remember. Repeat scenarios. Repeatedly point out safe people and places. Doing this will ensure your child doesn’t forget anything important, and feels comfortable knowing what to do in a dangerous situation.
 
Instinct
Children are even more intuitive than adults, and it is a good idea to teach your kids to pay attention to their instincts. It’s important for your kids to know that they will never be criticised for asking for help, and if they don’t feel happy or safe for whatever reason, they should let you know as soon as possible.
 
It’s OK to yell when in danger
Teach your children to be loud if in danger! If your child is taken by a stranger they need to know what to do. It’s a great idea to teach them to yell as loud as possible, hit, and draw attention to themselves in any way possible if pulled by a stranger. The world needs to know that this person is not supposed to be around your child. 
 
Front door safety
It’s essential to teach your children to open the front door with caution when the doorbell rings or someone is knocking. When possible, have a look through a window or ask who’s there before opening. Video intercom systems allow those inside the home to view who’s at the door before letting them in, perfect for kids in conjunction with lessons on stranger danger.
  
To discuss how Signal Security can better protect your children with security systems including video intercoms, give our team of experts a call today on 1300 73 83 93 to arrange a customised solution from our extensive range of home security products.
 
Information taken from All Women Stalk

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