How to stay safe while trick-or-treating this Halloween

Halloween is a week away!

While kids want their costume to stand out to get plenty of treats, parents need to know all the tricks to keep them safe.

Here are five tips to stay safe while trick-or-treating:

1. Opt for light and bright costumes

"These Disney princess costumes are very bright, drivers can certainly see them," said Doug Shupe with AAA. "Also, you would use face paint instead of a mask to allow the children to see."

You can also give your child a flashlight or glow sticks.

For darker-colored costumes, it's easy to add embellishments.

"The Darth Vader costume, Captain America costume, obviously they are darker. What you wanna do is, you can actually fix these costumes and put reflective tape on the back of them," Shupe explained. "What that does is, it allows drivers to see the children and it can make it look like it's part of the costume. ... That reflective tape can go a long way in allowing drivers to see the kids."

2. Be careful when biking in a costume

If kids want to ride their bike on Halloween, make sure there's nothing hanging from their costume that could get caught up in the wheels. Also, make sure their costume will still be able to include a helmet.

"These helmets are only meant to withstand the forces of an impact, which would protect the head within that helmet," Shupe said.

3. Teach pedestrian safety

One of the biggest reminders for kids on Halloween is pedestrian safety. Before trick-or-treating, teach kids to use the crosswalk and never dart out between parked cars.

"On Halloween night, kids are excited, they're happy, they're with their friends and they could be making very dangerous decisions," Shupe said. "So, parents and guardians should review safety precautions with their kids, and drivers just need to keep in mind that kids could be present anywhere."

4. Home safety for trick-or-treaters

It's not just kids that need to practice safety.

If you're welcoming trick-or-treaters to your home, you'll want to remove any tripping hazards on your porch or lawn.

And keep your pets somewhere safe, so they don't jump on any trick-or-treaters.

5. Driving on Halloween night

Drivers should watch out for kids in the street at all times. They should also avoid neighborhood streets as shortcuts on Halloween night.

Meantime, adult party-goers who are drinking should plan ahead and use ride share or have a designated driver.

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