The 3 Halloween Myths that Refuse to Die
A few years back, a parent on our Raising Independent Kids FB Group, wrote:
I can’t with the Halloween scare tactics. One local urgent care center is offering to x-ray kids’ candy to make sure it’s safe. The local sex offender registry pops up when I Google for trick-or-treat routes, and the police have circulated a flyer with safety tips, which includes “throw away all apples.”
To which we replied:
Wow — the trifecta of Halloween myths! And yet:
1 – No child has ever been poisoned by a stranger’s Halloween candy.
2 – No child has been molested by someone on the registry while trick or treating. (In fact, sex crimes vs. kids do not go up on the holiday.)
3 – No child wants an apple when they’ve got bite-size Milky Ways.
And yes, that third fact probably needs an asterisk. Some kid somewhere is undoubtedly more psyched about apples than chocolate-covered caramel and nougat.
We just haven’t met ’em.
As for safety tips grounded in reality, we’ve got two:
1 – Have your kids dress up in something easy to see at night. Maybe give them a flashlight.
2 – Teach them how to cross the street safely. Cars are the real danger on Halloween.
That’s it! Don’t worry about the candy. Just the cars!
Photo credit: Beth Teutshmann, https://unsplash.com/@teutschmann
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