10 Halloween Tips to Keep Your Kids Safe This Hall

As a parent, Halloween presents a lot of excitement, playfulness and TONS of candy! As a mother though, I also worry about my children's safety. So I dug into some safety tips around Halloween tactics for parents. Here are some gold star standards that I'll be doing this Halloween - thought I'd share them with any parent who share my concerns.
Parents should always accompany children under 12 year of age while trick or treating to protect against candy bullies, kids getting lost, and vehicle safety.
For some of the older kids, make sure you give them a timeline and expectation of when you want them home. Knowing their route can also provide some trouble shooting for your kid's safety.
I'm a big Halloween decorating nut, but I always try to be considerate for parents, small children and even the older ones by making sure that the doors, porches, lawns and sidewalks are clear of any tripping hazards or fire hazards. This way you're not only looking out for your safety, but also the safety of others.
When selecting candy for your trick or treaters, try to avoid giving small items that can be choking hazards for the smaller children. My kids love the big stuff anyways!
Keep your eyes out for children in the street, on meridians, darting out in between cars, and hanging out on your driveway. Remember, lots of excitement can mean common sense and safety rules are easily forgotten.
If you're doing up a pumpkin, consider the age of your children. For younger children, have the kids draw the 'carving' on the pumpkin, and then have the adults carve it. You'll be amazed at how many cut fingers and/or puncture wounds you'll avoid.
Keep lit pumpkins away from curious little fingers and hands. Put the master piece (the pumpkin) out of reach and free from tripping hazards.
If you're the parent volunteer who is taking the gaggle of trick or treaters out, make sure you all stop at the corners and cross the intersections together in a group - there's visibility and safety in numbers.
When dressing up your children, avoid loose baggy clothing or any oversized clothes and shoes. All of these items can catch either on bushes or become tripping hazards.
Be more visible. Make sure your kids wear reflectors on his or her Halloween costume while out trick or treating in the neighbourhood.
So there you have it, my contribution from one parent to another. Let's do a better job at keeping our little ones, medium ones and big ones all safe. Get out there, enjoy the spirit of Halloween with your kids and above all - stay safe!
We may think our wants equal our needs. In other words, that we just have to have a certain pair of shoes or gadget to be happy, successful, etc. While this can seem simple when we're talking about basic needs like shelter and food, it can get murky when we're looking at other items. Here's an easy way to really get conscious about determining the difference between a need and want.Weighing In is a technique for cutting through the financial fog that envelops so many overshoppers. Weighing In involves the disciplined recording of purchases-and something more. You also categorize each purchase, choosing from a master list that groups expenses into logical bins: Home, Food, Clothing, Entertainment, Education, and so on. And you assign each purchase a Necessity Score, based on your dispassionate evaluation of how much you need it. (Need,Artful Dodger Hoody, not want.)
This data is entered into the Daily Weigh-In Form, which I introduced last posting. Here's the form again:Let's focus on the concept of necessity.In the fourth column, you assign each purchase a Necessity Score: 0 if the purchase is totally unnecessary, 1/3 if it's not very necessary, 2/3 if it's pretty necessary, and 1 if it's entirely necessary.There is, of course, a certain subjectivity to assigning necessity scores; the decision will depend to some extent on your psychological awareness, even on your existing debt level and your present and future expenses. But here's a rough guide. If you fell and broke your leg during the week, the check to the orthopedist would be entirely necessary; you'd give that a Necessity Score of 1.