Moms Council: Halloween Safety

Hello and welcome to this week's Fredericksburg Patch Moms Council, an online forum of ordinary mothers just trying their best to raise their children. The Moms Council will take your questions, share advice and offer solutions every Wednesday at 1 p.m. This week's topic is keeping Halloween fun and safe.

From candy to parades, what Halloween festivities do your children participate in? When I was a kid, my school had contests for best costume and a parade. But now I hear schools are scaling back on costumes and doing away with Halloween parties. In your opinion, is this for religious, allergy concerns or economic reasons?  

When and where are you allowing your children to trick-or-treat? Will you allow them to go door-to-door? Will you take them to a community-run function? Does your church or community participate in Truck-o-Treat or will you take them to the mall? How will you monitor who gives your children candy?  

Since many communities don’t have sidewalks or adequate lighting, how do you protect your children while trick-or-treating? Do you forbid them from wearing dark costumes, masks that obscure their vision, costumes that pose tripping hazards? What do you do to ensure your children are seen? Do you put reflective tape on their costumes or have them carry a light stick or flashlight?

If you allow your children to dress for Halloween, will they wear a store bought or homemade costume? Share with us in the comment area, what will your children be for Halloween this year.   

Join the discussion -- we want to hear from you! Share with us in the comment area your opinions on Halloween. Keeping our children safe is our everyday number one priority but this once traditional “holiday” seems to be putting us all on heightened alert. How are you managing to allow your children to have fun while keeping your cool? For more information about the format, and an introduction to our Mom's Council, read our intro post .