New Age Halloween Safety Tips

Thank you to U.S. Cellular for sponsoring this post. All opinions and my love for safe Halloween fun are 100% my own.

 

 

Halloween is only a couple of weeks away and you can always tell when that’s the case at our house. The kids and hubby lose their minds! Costumes must be elaborate and they must be perfect or the entire holiday is ruined. Sadly they never start the planning of the costumes, say in July? Nope, October 15th sounds like a good time to start trying to pull it all together. Halloween is sort of the entry point of the holiday season, and the time of year that my crazy really tries to outdo itself.

 

 

This year my kids are 3 (almost 4) and 13 so big brother may be doing some of the trick or treating with his sister without mom and dad tagging along. Or if he has it his way he may be heading out with his school chums and the adults will hang with the little one. There’s even been a rumor that there may be a Halloween party the some of the 8th graders are putting together. (I’m totally not ready for this stuff, but evidently time doesn’t wait for me!) Either way, it will be different in than in previous years in that we won’t be hovering over him the entire time. Super cool for him, extremely nerve wracking for mama.

 

It will definitely be a night were staying connected with my son will take on increased importance. Fortunately, there are tools that are on my side and that help make Halloween safer and more fun. Believe it or not, your child’s cell phone, is one of the best tools to help keep you in the know and help keep them safe this Halloween.

Halloween Safety Tips

* Set up alarms on your child’s phone for periodic reminders to check in.

* Program your phone numbers into their phone as ICE (In Case of Emergency).

* Take advantage of the flashlight function for night visibility.

* Apps: Parents can also take advantage of these top-rated, free or low cost apps for Halloween safety!

•  Family Locator: Keep tabs on trick-or-treating family members with the Family Locator app. This free app allows parents to see kids’ locations in real time, get notifications when they reach their destination and receive alerts when they go somewhere unsafe.

 

• Red Panic Button: In case of emergency, parents can ensure they’re reachable at a moment’s notice with the Red Panic Button app. A press of the button sends an SMS and email that contains a link to Google Maps and their GPS coordinates to everyone in the panic contact list.

 

•  FBI Child ID: This free app provides invaluable tools in case a child goes missing. Convenient electronic storage of photos and vital information about your child enables parents to show pictures and provide physical identifiers to first responders, as well as easily email the information to authorities.

 

 

 

• Ghost Radar: Have a little fun this Halloween with the Ghost Radar app! This free app takes Halloween safety to a paranormal level by alerting users to any possible paranormal activity in the area. Ghost Radar takes various readings on the device, and includes a voice to announce when interesting words have been detected.

 

 

My son can easily download these apps on his smartphone and I can download the same ones on my Samsung Galaxy Tab2 (which by the way may be one of the best gadgets I’ve had thus far). If you’re wondering how to start the conversation about cell phone responsibility with your child, you can check out the U.S. Cellular Parent Child Agreement to start the conversation about cell phone rules and etiquette and set expectations for Halloween night.