Kids in the Know

Trick-or-treating doesn’t have to be scary

5 Habits for a Safe Halloween

October 27, 2015
For Immediate Release

Winnipeg, MB: Children across Canada are set to transform into their favourite characters and head out to fill their Halloween treat bags this weekend. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection encourages parents to make safety a part of the Halloween preparations, as trick-or treating can be a great platform help build children’s safety competence and confidence.

5 Habits for a Safe Halloween is a great resource for parents to review strategies with kids of all ages to help keep them safe throughout their Halloween activities. These habits include making a trick-or-treat route plan together with your child even if you will be with them, creating direct or in-direct supervision through check-in points as well as the buddy system.

“These safety habits are easy to implement into your family’s Halloween routine and create a safety foundation that you can build on year by year as children become more independent,” says Noni Classen, Director of Education at the Canadian Centre. “Halloween is a great time to discuss some of the real world situations children may face and build up their safety competence.”

5 Habits for a Safe Halloween has been adapted from the Canadian Centre’s Safety Habits for Life. By promoting these personal safety skills, parents are setting the foundation for Halloween and other situations involving increasing independence to remain safe and fun. For more information and age-specific resources visit kidsintheknow.ca.

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About the Canadian Centre for Child Protection: The goal of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (www.protectchildren.ca) is to reduce child victimization by providing programs and services to the Canadian public. The Canadian Centre operates Cybertip.ca (www.cybertip.ca), Canada’s tipline to report the online sexual exploitation of children; MissingKids.ca (www.missingkids.ca), a national missing children resource and response centre; Kids in the Know (www.kidsintheknow.ca), an interactive child personal safety program for children in Kindergarten to Grade 9; and Commit to Kids (www.commit2kids.ca), a program to help child-serving organizations create safer environments for the children in their care and reduce their risk of sexual abuse.