Halloween safety tips to keep kids safe - KOAM TV 7

From costume making to festive pictures, Halloween season is filled with activities for kids to enjoy the season. Joplin kids have many choices when it comes to celebrating this Halloween and not all of them include night time in neighborhoods.  

"We have an opportunity to come and have your picture taken in our photo booth with Mr. Creepy skeleton," said Kara lee McDonald, Education Director of Spiva about their fall photo booth day, "it's a fun way for the families to come and remember this Halloween for 2012."  

Where most parents remember going trick or treating until the early hours of the morning, most families now-a-days are looking for safer alternatives. Activities such as Spiva Center's photo booth or Art Feed's costume making are great ways to celebrate the holiday without worrying about safety.

Father Josh Willis says he plans on staying safe with his son this Halloween. "We're with him and have an eye on him every second, do something inside, at church, just monitored," Willis said.

But there are some families that are still planning on braving the streets, and for those who do, Art Feeds Director Meg Bourne says bright or reflective gear will help keep kids safe. Art Feeds hosted a "make your own costume" party at the Joplin Library for elementary age children, to show them that costumes can be fun, safe and don't always have to break the bank.

"We are working with a lot of bright and fun materials so if these kids happen to wear the costumes they made it they will be easily spotted," Bourne said.

Ten year old Ralica Gonzalez said she plans on going as a ninja this year, but says besides having her mother check all of her candy before enjoying it, she has other plans to stay safe.

"Always go with a parent which is my mom," Gonzalez said. "And just never enter a house if they ask you, always stay on the porch." 

The American Red Cross also recommends children always carry a flashlight as extra assurance so they can see and be seen. And with jack-o-lanterns a blazing, the Red Cross also recommends flame resistant costumes to keep all the little ghosts and goblins safe this Halloween.