Halloween Safety, Tips & Experience

2013 marks the first year that my child (Cali) has participated in Halloween, it's my first time also ^.^ I know it's late however I wasn't able to make a post about this before seeing as I had no experience or knowledge. I want to briefly touch up on safety around Halloween and share our experience.

First house, Cali's eager!

Halloween is a fun time each year where children (and adults) can dress up in costumes and go trick or treating. Surely it's all safe, clean fun, or is it? Read on.

Firstly, some people just don't want to participate, so you can imagine how annoying this is for them if they get children knocking on their door all night. Check our your countries police website as they should have a printable message that nicely refuses trick or treaters, or you can make one yourself. Your child may be disappointed or let down when they knock on somebody's door and no one answers but simply tell them that they may not be home, or they don't like Halloween.

Growing up we're taught to respect peoples privacy, so breaking this 'rule' can be a little uneasy. Seeing a house with Halloween decorations is a plus so try to stick to decorated houses and keep an eye out for other kids that are coming out of houses with candies to avoid disappointment. 

Never take candy from strangers! Except on Halloween?!

My biggest fear about Halloween is 'poisonous candy'. Wrapped candy is always safer, so whether you're collecting candy or handing it out, go for wrapped sweets. If in doubt, throw it out. 

Children are very vulnerable on Halloween, there are sickos out there, and this is a great opportunity for them to strike so stay in groups, stay in well lit areas and always have an adult per group for supervision.

Tip:

Buy preparations/costumes well in advance, if you leave it till the last minute there's a very high chance of low stock.

Knock knock, is anyone home?

Cali was Minnie Mouse this year, I curled her hair, applied gold glitter eyeshadow, a little bit of red lippie, pink flushed cheeks, a heart on her cheek and of course, a little button nose ^.^. Choosing face paint is a better idea so there's no vision being obstructed by masks, especially if your children are going out on there own. We went while it was still daylight, when she's older I'll possibly take her out later, it would definitely be spookier! We went to a total of 5 houses, 3 gave her candy and 2 'weren't' home, she had so much fun! She now assumes she can get candy from strangers houses though and I really don't like that, Halloween is so contradictory to common sense. We teach our children to never take candy from strangers, yet we allow it once a year. Be sure to talk to your child after about how it is just a one of thing to avoid confusion.

Trick or Treat?

She was a very polite young girl, which brings me to another tip, be super polite! You/ your kids will probably get more candy for it! :)

Have fun, stay safe, be polite & brush your teeth a little extra after! :D If you don't feel comfortable with the thought of trick or treating yet you still want your child to experience Halloween, it can be just as fun staying at home, bring the spookiness to you with Halloween foods, games, movies, dress up and wait for children to come knocking if you choose to hand candies out :)

What did you and/or your child go as this year? What are you wanting to go as next year? Leave me a comment down below, I'd love to hear from you :) xx

Pink Cookie Monster Cupcakes Recipe (Vanilla)

I made these little cuties for my daughters best friends 5th birthday. The traditional blue cookie monsters use the same recipe however, you would use blue food colouring/icing & mini chocolate chip cookies instead.

Ingredients: (makes 12)

1 box of Vanilla Cupcake Mix (click here for a homemade recipe) 

Shredded coconut

Pink food colouring

White chocolate buttons

Black or dark chocolate writing gel (icing)

Mini cookies (pink 100s&1000s go nicely with this version)

Steps:

Click to enlarge.

1. [Follow on pack/website directions] Bake cupcakes & let them cool off.

Filling them approximately 1/2 full will make them rise to just under or just to the top of the case, which is best for this type of cupcake as the decorating will sit more secure. Cool before the next step.

2. Frost cupcakes.

If you have opted for a cupcake kit, use included icing and add pink food colouring until you get the desired colour. Don't worry too much about the neatness of the icing as it will be covered up in the next step anyway.

3. Tint coconut & roll in coconut.

Tint the coconut (shredded) by adding a few drops of pink food colouring, mix it around with a spoon until most of the coconut is covered, then; dip and twist the frosted cupcakes.

4. Add eyes.

Use some icing or the icing gel underneath the button so it can stick nicely to the cupcake. It also helps to practice making the dots for pupils a couple of times before applying them to the buttons. The 'googlier' the better!

5. Cut mouth shape with knife & insert mini cookie.

Cut line horizontally about 3/4 through the cupcake where you want the mouth to be so you can insert a cookie. This is why only filling the cases with batter 1/2 full is important. I found with a higher rise, the cupcakes fall apart when trying to put in the cookies.This way, they'll sit firmly and won't fall apart.

Enjoy :)

Joy Findlay - eBooks For Children

Joy Findlay from Findlay Books writes and illustrates eBooks for children. She also finds and posts links to free and discounted eBooks for parents from Amazon over at eBook Mamas; taking all the hard work out of finding good books for us to digitally download and read to our children. The eBooks that Joy Findlay writes are generally aimed at 3-6 year olds, bright, colourful and short enough for even the busiest, short spanned little minds to sit through and enjoy.

My daughter is almost four and she absolutely loves books, I frequently read eBooks myself but I have never thought to read her one through technology! She absolutely loved it, she was fascinated with the concept and the availability of childrens eBooks is amazing. They won't get ripped or dirty little fingerprints on them either, and you'll never lose them. Which is a huge plus, I'm sure every parent will agree.

My child's favourite Petal the Owl book.

I had the great pleasure of reading a few of Joys books to my child. We started off with Petal the Owl series. Petal is a wee nature loving owl and in these stories, we follow Petal through season changes and children are briefly introduced to how and why they work.

Each Petal the Owl book ranges from $1.99 - $4.99 for digital downloading. There are also two compilations. One of which are a compilation of all 4 Petal the Owl season books, and one which is of two of the season books (spring and winter), a counting book and also a book on colours.

You can find them all here: Petal the Owl on Amazon

Petal The Owl plush.

You can also find some cute homemade owl plush toys over at Night Owl Creations, even Petal! Great for your children to snuggle while reading the series.

I highly recommend the Petal the Owl range as an easy introduction into seasons, numbers and colours, your kids will love them! Mine sure did :)

Getting Your Child To Sleep In Their Own Bed AND Room

Getting your child to sleep in their own bed let alone room can prove difficult for most if not all parents. Don't give up! It's not as hard as you may think.

Yes, it will take time and a lot of patience, but soon enough you can enjoy a peaceful, comfortable nights sleep, alone.

Children usually develop and come accustom to routines in two weeks. Each time that you break the routine, you're set back at day 1. So going through with this method needs complete devotion and willpower. 

No matter your child's age, a routine can be established. Obviously, the earlier you start the easier. But, it's never too late to break a habit.

Big No-No's:

The last thing you want to do is show your weakness to your child. You know, at 3 in the morning when you hear them crying in their room and all you want is to go back to sleep so you go and either get your child, or sleep in your child's bed. Children are aware of these patterns, and they will use it to their advantage. So, no matter how tired you are, stick to the method and soon enough, your child will be reminded that you make the rules, not them. It will pay off.

Don't feel guilty, your child will most probably make you feel guilty, and try to sweet talk their way back into your bed, they will try every trick in the book. If there is nothing physically wrong with them, then there's nothing for you to worry about.

Don't lie to them. If you tell them that you will be back in 15 minutes and hope they fall asleep within that time, they will remember this and wonder where you are, they may even wait up. They will also lose your trust and become more resistant to a new routine. Be honest to them, sometimes they are just frustrated that they don't know what's going on.

Warning:

It's a good idea to childproof the room they will be in to avoid any accidents. Things to keep an eye on are; power sockets, sharp corners, window and door locks, choking hazards (such as toys, small objects) and bed barriers. These can easily be child-safe with the right contraptions that you can find at your local baby store and most supermarkets.

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) effects babies up to the age of 1 years old. There is no explanation to the cause and after investigation the cause is still unknown. SIDS can effect any baby of any race and of any socioeconomic level. Although SIDS is not caused by suffocation or choking, it is recommended to always have your baby sleep on their back with no pillows or clutter on their cot/bed. If your baby/child is in a cot, make sure the cot meets the safety requirements. SIDSNZ goes more in depth on cot safety requirements here.

The Method:

Firstly, you'll want to set a date for when the new routine will commence. Set it on a day that everyone is happy with and a day that is easiest for you. Have a pre-bedroom activity, if you do the same thing at the same time every night before you put your child to bed, this can be easier for the child to recognize that bed time is approaching. You will want to avoid full-on activities, pre-bedroom activities that can get your child to relax and wind down could include: a shower, reading books together, a puzzle etc.

Set a suitable bed time. Stick to it each night. Tell your child that this is their very own room, and you have your own room, give them a cuddle, say goodnight and leave. They don't need to be baby-talked to. They'll understand just fine.

If your child (they will) calls out to you or starts crying, walk into their room, and tell them that you are not far away and that it is time for them to sleep.

The trick is to not make this a habit, they will expect you to come running to them each time they call out. Limit it to 3 visits (realistically 5) per night, no more. They will stop calling out and crying eventually. Just make sure that they are fed and clean. Leave a water bottle in their room as calling out for a drink is the number 1 thing children do to gain their parents attention, most likely they aren't even thirsty.

Stick to this and you'll see results! It will get easier as each night passes.

Note; trust your instincts, you know your child best.

Tips:

A baby monitor may come in handy if your room is far from your child's room or if you aren't sure you will be able to hear your child during the night.

Making the room pretty/fun is a great way to get your children to stay in their rooms.

Praise the bed! Rave about how cool/great their bed is and they won't be able to wait to get into it.

Reward your child. If your child has stayed in their bedroom longer than usual, reward them and praise them for it. Perhaps a sticker chart. One sticker for each night they stay in their room, and by 7 stickers they get a treat. Praising good behaviour is just as important as punishing bad behaviour.

Have a big chat to them beforehand, tell them what is going on and answer any question they might have. Reassurance is vital.

Everyone in your household needs to be on the same page about the new routine. It will be a loud, few nights so if someone isn't happy with this you may want to invest in earplugs for them.  Just remember that this will benefit everyone in the long run. Good luck!