Beyond trick-or-treating: Safe Halloween fun during the COVID-19 pandemic

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had to find new ways to do almost everything — and the same is true of this year’s Halloween celebrations. Two mainstays of Halloween, trick-or-treating and Halloween parties, could be very risky this year. Going from house to house, sticking your hands in bowls of candy that many other hands have touched, or being close to people indoors or out, are all activities that could spread the virus. Even if people feel perfectly well, there’s no guarantee that they aren’t sick, and therefore contagious. That doesn’t mean we have to ditch Halloween entirely. On the contrary, we need some fun — and as much as we can, we need to keep some traditions. We just need to do some tweaking to make Halloween not only fun but safe. The fact that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year is helpful: you can truly make a day of it, and there’s less worry about getting to bed on time. A fun and safe Halloween If you think about what makes Halloween fun, it’s dressing up and showing off our costumes, carving pumpkins, being spooked — and, of course, eating candy. With some creativity, we can do all of those things safely. The safest thing to do is celebrate at home with your family (or the people in your bubble). That way you don’t have to take any risks. You could: Make a really big deal out of carving pumpkins — or decorating them, for those who can’t or shouldn’t use knives. Use markers, paint, anything you can find. Take pic...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Source Type: blogs