Halloween Safety Tips for Teens to Have Fun While Staying Safe

Just because your teens are no longer in grade school doesn’t mean that you don’t worry about them on Halloween. You still want to see them be safe and make good choices. Halloween can be a dangerous time with the many parties, extra cars on the road, and plenty of mischiefs. Sit your teen down beforehand and lay down some ground rules before they head out. Here are 7 Halloween Safety Tips for Teens to get you started.

The Best Halloween Safety Tips for Teens

Keep them at home
Consider keeping them at home by having a party at your house. Some teens still like to go out trick or treating, but most of them think it’s for the little kids now that they “feel” they are “grown up.” Hosting a Halloween party at home lets you keep them close so you can have an eye on them but still, let them enjoy the festivities. Invite friends over for a Halloween costume or non-costume party, a bonfire, haunted house, etc. Make sure you start planning early and communicate with their friends’ parents so everyone knows what’s going on.

Light and bright
Just like younger children, if your teen is going to be walking around the neighborhood or elsewhere outside encourage light-colored clothing and some sort of safety lights. Halloween is a heavy traffic night and you definitely want to be seen in the dark!

Driving safety
Remind your teen that there is no drinking, texting, eating, or applying makeup while driving. Eyes on the road at all times! Also, remind them that they have to watch for pedestrians because there will be more people on foot on Halloween night. Simply put, remind them to avoid aimless driving.

Remember what it was like for you to be a teenager and all the crazy stuff you did when you least expected. Just like us, teens aren’t perfect and they will make mistakes along the way. We, as parents have to make sure they are safe when it comes to getting behind the wheel. Their safety is our number one priority and why I would highly recommend hosting the party at your home so you can be there to chaperone the party yourself.

With that said, if you know your teen is going to a party, give your child an out. Teens are known to get into situations and having an out is a good option to give them if they accidentally get caught up in the mix of everything around them. Underage drinking is not something they should be doing at all nor do I condone it one bit, but let them know that they can call you and you will come get them without fuss. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Save the lecture for later.

Enforce curfews
Enforce a strict curfew know who your teen is going with and where they will be at all times. Get contact numbers of friends and parents, especially if they are going to be at a party. Your teen may get upset that you require all this information, but in the end, their safety is our number one concern. Let your teenager know that if they are going to be late, they MUST call and let you know. No ifs, and’s or buts about it. You are their parent and enforcing a curfew lets them know that you make the rules and they must follow them.

Stick to treats, not tricks
While it may be tempting to give in to Halloween teenage antics like; toilet papering, pumpkin smashing, and egging, not only are they disrespectful they can lead to more serious repercussions. Let your teenager know what kind of consequences could result from their Halloween pranks. In our house, we are huge advocates for communication with our teenagers. Before they go anywhere, we discuss the consequences of their actions and how they should represent themselves in public. As with Halloween, we still have to keep their communication open with them.

Stay in groups
Make sure your teen stays in a large group instead of wandering off alone. Stress the importance of safety in numbers and not going anywhere by themselves whether it be to a party, trick or treating, or haunted houses. Teens think they are invincible so we have to communicate with them about safety and how a larger group is much better versus being along somewhere.

Keep an eye on your drinks
It is a sad state that this needs to be said but turning a blind eye won’t make these types of things go away. There are so many things that can be easily slipped into drinks when teens aren’t looking. Make sure your teen knows to watch their drink at all times, make it themselves or be present when it is being made.

With these Halloween safety tips, you can relax a little knowing that you have set ground rules and discussed what you expect from your teen.

Share your Halloween safety tips for teens with us in the comments.