4 minute read
Parenting Column: Halloween during COVID
By Meagan Ruffing
Trick-or-Treating: COVID-Style
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Remember how there was always that one house that passed out the full-size candy bars at Halloween? Yeah, I do too.
I used to try and figure out a way to be a ‘repeat’ trick-or-treater without being noticed. It never worked. I ended up to doing the candy walk of shame when the lady dressed up as a witch at the door said, “Didn’t I see you already tonight?” If you’re anything like me (or my kids), you’re a sucker for a good candy bar. Let me give you some helpful but easy tips to make this year’s Halloween the best yet… even if it is COVID-style. 1. Buy a cheap lanyard to put around your child’s neck so they can hang their hand sanitizer from it. This is an easy way to remind them to clean their hands between houses. Attach a glow-stick to the lanyard for a cool Halloween effect. It will double as a night light when it gets dark outside! 2. Remind your child of the ‘take one or two’ rule. I’m sure there will be quite a few houses who will be leaving their buckets of candy outside on their front porch.
This allows social distancing while still participating in the ghoulish festivities that October has to offer. If your child sees a bowl of candy, tell them to take one or two pieces so there is enough for the next person. 3. Mask or no mask? My goal is to try and find my kids costumes that already have a mask as part of the attire. I think we can all agree we’re over having to wear masks all day long but for the safety of ourselves and others, it’s just necessary. What better time to dress up a boring mask than during
Halloween? Your kids will enjoy a break from their typical school mask to wear something funny like a Bubble
Guppies face or a Star Wars character. 4. Cough and sneeze into your arm. I can’t tell you how many kids I see who still cough and sneeze into the wide-open air without covering their noses or mouths. Eww. I work in a public elementary school and the number of times I have to remind kids to stop picking their noses and eating their boogers is ridiculous. Remind your trickor-treaters that no one else wants to pick up a piece of candy from a bowl after they just sneezed into it. Everyone will thank you for it.
5. Stay grouped up.
It’s fun to walk ahead or lag behind sometimes but this year, remind your crew to stay together. It’s important to keep your distance as much as possible during this pandemic. Maybe you all wear matching glow sticks on your lanyards to help identify each other!
Meagan Ruffing is a freelance parenting journalist who loves finding new ways to spend time with her kids. She is excited to be the house that passes out full-sized candy bars this year.
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6. As always, do not let your kids eat any of their candy until you have looked through it.
Wrappers have a sneaky way of peeling off or even opening at times. Play it safe and tell your kids they have to wait until you’ve spread it all out. My brother, sister and I all used to dump our pillowcases full of candy out onto the living room floor.
We would match candy bars with candy bars and tootsie pops with tootsie pops. You can still make the ‘inspection’ process fun while ensuring that the candy is safe to eat.
7. Clean off when you get home from trickor-treating.
It might be late but your kids will feel so much better after a nice warm shower with a good old bar of soap. Plus, there’s nothing like climbing into bed after a really fun night with friends and family. Wet hair that smells so good you could eat it and nestling down between your comfy sheets will be a sure way to get your kids to sleep before they can ask you for another piece of candy. n
