• Kids can enjoy Halloween and stay safe.girl in halloween costume image by NiDerLander from Fotolia.com
  
  Trick-or-treating doesn't just happen at night. For younger children, it's much safer to go trick-or-treating during the day, under the watchful eye of a responsible adult. Some daycare centers provide Halloween and trick-or-treat activities for children and their families. This helps kids experience the fun of the holiday while avoiding unsafe situations.
  
  

Trunk-or-Treat

• Keep trick-or-treat activities confined to just the families involved in the daycare center. On the night of the trick-or-treat activity, families drive to the daycare facility and park their vehicles in the parking lot. Parents open the trunks of their cars and decorate them in Halloween themes. Children from the daycare center, dressed in costume, walk from car to car collecting candy and treats from other parents. This activity allows children to participate in a safe trick-or-treating environment. For added safety, a daycare employee should check in drivers at the entrance of the parking lot, ensuring that only parents of daycare children are involved. This activity also can take place during the day on a weekend for added safety, or if the daycare center's parking lot is not well-lit.
  
  

Costume Parade

• Local residents and businesses need to get involved for this activity to work. During a weekday, when all of the children are at the daycare facility, dress them in their Halloween costumes. Line the children up in a single-file and make sure every child has a bag or a bucket to hold their treats. Walk the children down a sidewalk or street if there is not much traffic. Have at least one chaperone for every five to 10 children to make sure the students stay in line and don't wander off. Ask residents and representatives from local businesses to stand outside and watch the children's costume parade. The audience can pass out candy and treats to the children as it marvels at their costumes. If neighbors aren't willing to participate, hold the parade inside the daycare center with the teachers handing out treats to students as they pass their classrooms.
  
  

Candy Trade-In

• Encourage daycare children to trade in their less-than-healthy candy for healthier snacks or usable items. This activity should take place as soon as possible after the trick-or-treat activity is held. As a group, students and teachers can assign different values to each type of candy, giving the lowest value to smaller candy, increasing value as candy increases in size and unhealthiness factors. The highest value should be placed on full-size candy bars. Prize items should be valued ahead of time. One at a time, let the children trade in unwanted candy for available items, such as granola bars, yogurt, crayons, stickers, books and small toys. Prizes can be provided by teachers, donated by local businesses or brought in by students. This activity not only creates a way for children to willingly part with unhealthy candy, but also helps teach about eating healthy, valuing objects and about how retail transactions work.