Halloween Safety Tips

Have a ‘Spooktacular’, safe Halloween

Increasingly popular in Australia, Halloween – an annual holiday celebrated on October 31 – will see children across the state dressing up in costumes and going door-to-door ‘trick or treating’.

Before children take to the streets, police recommend that parents talk to them about how to behave to help them stay safe when they’re out and about on Wednesday night.

It is recommended that children should be accompanied by a trusted, responsible adult when trick or treating.

The South Australia Police crime prevention branch and youth programs section have also developed two posters for residents to display on their doors either welcoming or not wanting to participate in Halloween’s trick or treat.

The posters can be downloaded from the SA Police webpage at: http://www.sapolice.sa.gov.au

To have a “Spooktacular,” safe Halloween please remember:

• Children and young people should walk, not run, when going from house to house.
• They need to obey traffic rules, watch out for cars, use proper road crossings where available and watch out for smaller, younger children.
• Children should stay on the footpath at all times. If there is no footpath, walk single file on the right hand side facing traffic, or reconsider allowing the children to use that route.
• Take extra care when crossing roads as children may find it hard to see so well in a costume.
• If using a skateboard, roller-blades or bikes, a helmet must be worn.
• After knocking on the door and saying ‘trick or treat’ children or young people should stay at the front door and not enter the person’s house, even if invited inside while the person looks for treats. They should also leave immediately if asked to do so.
• Sometimes, a person who’s door is knocked either doesn’t want to participate, or selects a trick instead of providing a treat. Children and young people should be told any trick must not cause harm, fear, or damage nor should it be abusive in anyway.
• Be respectful of other members of the community as not everyone celebrates Halloween. Some people will be genuinely concerned or fearful of any door knockers. If you are aware of someone like that, make sure your children know not to bother them.
• Parents may consider an alternative to ‘trick or treating’ by holding a Halloween party at home; that way children are supervised and still celebrating Halloween.
• If a house full of ‘little monsters’ is not appealing, neighbouring families could set up a safe house arrangement, where children are given a list of addresses of participating families to door knock in the locality, and these are the only houses they go to.