Family Matters: How to have fun, be safe and survive Candyland this Halloween!

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Friday, October 29, 2010

FAMILY by Anisa Raoof, GoLocalProv Contributor

Every Friday, enjoy inside tips for modern family life from Anisa Raoof, publisher and founder of Kidoinfo, the parents' guide for Rhode Island and beyond.

Kido Tip 1. Halloween fun for kids at every age.

Halloween can be a fun time for kids with all the creative costumes, candy treats, seasonal events, decorations, making crafts, and carving jack-o-lanterns, but it can also be overwhelming, what with all the scary costumes and decorations, candy overload, and staying up late. Depending on the age of your child you may opt for a simple celebration, dressing up your children and meeting friends at your favorite park or trick or

treating early at the Providence Children’s Museum or at a local business in your neighborhood. One year we took our boys trick-or-treating to just a handful of neighbors’ houses and then came home to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. That was about all our three-year-olds needed or could handle at that age.

Kido Tip 2. How to survive Candyland.

Trick-or-treating is around the corner, but in many houses the festivities and treats have already begun. Here are some helpful tips for minimizing the sugar rush. First. On Halloween day, try to have your kids eat healthy meals. Prepare dinner for the kids before they head out to trick-or-treat. Second. Make a plan for post-Halloween candy consumption. Limit your kids to two pieces of candy a day, save it to decorate your holiday gingerbread house, or have your kids barter their candy for non-edible treats (stickers, small toys) or for a special outing or event. More

ideas on how to manage the candy overload on Kidoinfo.

Kido Tip 3. Make it a Safe Halloween.

As we prepare our kiddos for a fun day or evening of trick-or-treating, let’s also help make it safe for them. Plan your route, load the flashlights with batteries and remind your kids how to cross the road. Go over these common sense safety tips from The American Red Cross with your children before you head out trick-or-treating.

Anisa Raoof is the publisher and founder of Kidoinfo, the parents' guide for Rhode Island and beyond.