Trick or Treating Safety Tips for Teens
Halloween today is a time to celebrate, dress up and go out to get candy. Going out to get candy, you participate in an event called “trick or treating.” The usual routine is going from one house to another saying “trick or treat.” People at the door will usually give you candy or something else.
However, Halloween is not all fun and games. This is a very dangerous time of year in which people can and will get hurt. Halloween is a time of night to have fun; but be responsible and be safe. For children, especially teenagers, safety is of the utmost importance. There are many ways for children and teenagers to keep safe.
Number One, have a large enough group of people to go trick or treating with. Not many people will try to attack a large group. By traveling from one house to another in a sizable group, safety is mostly assured. Do not go trick or treating by yourself. Make sure to have people go with you. Have an adult chaperone or two to accompany the group.
Number Two, go to familiar neighborhood places. That way, you can go to places owned by people that you have known and trusted for a long time. In addition, go to the households that have their front lights on or their jack o'lanterns lit up. That gives an indication that people are home and have candy to pass out. If the front porch is completely dark, then they are either not home or not in the mood to give out candy. Do not enter the households of people you do not know or people you barely know.
Number Three, do not eat the Halloween treats immediately after collecting them. Wait until you get home and then check the treats. That way you can make sure which treats are good and which are tainted. In the case of treats like apples, you should check to make sure nobody put anything harmful inside. Just because you are done with the night's festivities does not mean you are in the clear yet. It is very important to make sure the treats are safe for consumption.
Number Four, talk with local law enforcement officers that are in the area. They will give you helpful information on how to remain safe when trick or treating. Police officers will give you locations of addresses to avoid when going out. These addresses belong to known sex offenders. On Halloween, police officers do visit those households to make sure that the sex offenders do not try to pass out candy to children. By law, those people have to be registered. Also, they are required to inform authorities of their status.
Number Five, stay within areas where there are large groups of people. You are not the only teenager that is going out for trick or treating. As long as you are in a crowded area, you should be relatively safe. It would be insane and stupid to try to attack children in front of a large crowd of witnesses.
Number Six, keep flashlights and cell phones on you at all times in case something happens. Do not venture into dark places. Venturing into the darkness can and will potentially spell danger. If something happens, you can always make a phone call or two.
Keeping these six tips in mind, you can make Halloween trick or treating fun but safe and responsible at the same time.
