Make Sure your Child’s Manners Don’t Scare Anyone on Halloween

“Trick or Treating” is a fun tradition that brings children out in droves every Halloween night. For children the goal is to get as much candy as they can in their bucket or bag. For parents the goal can be to make sure children are obviously safe, but also polite and respectful. Before your little one leaves the house, go over some basic manners on Trick or Treating.
When going to someone’s door, one ring of the doorbell or a few knocks are all that are needed. If no one answers the door after a minute, then encourage your child to move on to the next house. They do not need to continue to pound on the door or ring the bell multiple times.
When the door is answered, tell your child to expect just one treat. Even if someone let’s him choose something, he only needs to take one piece.
There is no judging the candy in hearing range of the candy giver. Make sure you remind your little one to keep his opinion of the candy to himself. He can comment on it when he dumps it out on the floor when he gets home.
After getting his treat, he needs to look the candy giver in the eye through his cute or scary mask and say “thank you,” no matter what his opinion is of the treat.
Remind him that when you say it is time to go home, he needs to be agreeable. When he gets home he needs to say “thank you” for taking him out to Trick or Treat. Here is a great opportunity for you as a parent to have your little one practice his good manners.