Safety tips for a happy Halloween

As local children and families prepare to celebrate the candy-filled Halloween holiday the National Crime Prevention Council has a few tips to keep trick-or-treaters safe as they enjoy the night.

• Parents should be familiar with homes and occupants on their child’s trick-or-treat route.

• Children should wear reflective tape on their costumes and carry flashlights or glow sticks when trick-or-treating during evening hours.

• Only approach homes that are well-lit, both inside and out; instruct children never to enter a home without parental permission.

• Children should always trick-or-treat under the supervision of a trusted adult or teenager.

• Younger children should always be accompanied all the way to the door of the home when trick-or-treating.

• In the event they are grabbed by a stranger, instruct children to yell “this person is trying to take me!” or “this is not my mother/father!” and to resist by pulling, walking or running away.

• Stay in contact with your neighbors.

• Parents should inspect their children’s candy before allowing it to be consumed.

• Make sure to have a cell phone in your group in case you need to call 911 for any emergencies.

• Stay in established walking patterns, don’t run across the street from one place to the next or across intersections.

• Make sure parents know where their children are trick-or-treating.

“Stay in groups, stay in communication, wear something highly visible weather you have flash lights or whatever else with you and watch what you eat, those are really the main things people should consider as they are out and about on Thursday night,” Pahrump Valley Fire Rescue Services Chief Scott Lewis said.