Editor:

Halloween safety:

Set and define the rules of trick-or-treating before you leave your home.

Make sure the children are wearing facial decorations that don’t hinder their vision.

Make sure that they are illuminated. Lumina lights, reflective tape, bright flashlights. Not the ones with orange pumpkins on the end.

Plan routes that minimize crossing the streets.

Children are taught to trust adults, even if they’re inattentive drivers.

Children have a hard time judging vehicle speed.

Always cross legally in the crosswalks. If an incident should occur mid-block, the child is at fault which could eliminate coverage.

Parents, escort your children to the door so you can see what’s being thrown in the bag. When my boys were young, I would record the candy and the address.

Please escort your children from the car to the houses. It takes too long for you to react when sitting in the car.

Always have the children get in the car from the curbside. Never in the street.

Bring safe candy to eat instead of them eating uninspected out of their bag.

Inspect the candy when you get home; watch for anything that appears tampered with, such as even tears, pinholes or open wrappers.

If you see something suspicious, remember the license plate on a car is the strongest locator of suspects.

Enjoy Halloween. Parental love and support outweighs a full bag of candy.

Craig Strid, Rhinelander