Halloween Safety Tips for Parents

Halloween is one of children's most loved holidays. It gives them the opportunity to dress up like their favorite superhero or princess and go door-to-door to collect an endless supply of candy. However as a parent, you know that these fun times always come with potential dangers, so we at Hunter Insurance are here to help prepare you for this extended night of trick-or-treating.

Below is a list of helpful tips to protect your children from any potential dangers on and after Halloween night:

Costumes:

• Choose brightly colored costumes, add reflective tape or have your children wear glow sticks so motorists can see them
• Replace masks with face paint to avoid obstructing their vision
• Attach your child’s name, address and phone number inside the costume
• Always choose comfortable shoes for walking to avoid being uncomfortable

Trick-or-Treating:

• If you aren’t going out with your children, plan out their route and remind them to stick to it
• Teach your children to never respond to any adult calling out to them they don’t know
• Remind your children not to eat any of the candy until they get home or until after you have inspected it
• To avoid them from eating candy on their route, cook a well-balanced meal prior to going out
• Tell them not to approach any stray animals
• Make sure your children have flashlights if they plan to stay out after dark
• Establish an appropriate curfew
• Teach your children proper traffic etiquette: stay on the sidewalks and be sure to look and listen before crossing the street
• Remind them to never go inside a stranger’s house

After Trick-or-Treating:

• Inspect your child’s candy for any wrappers that appear to have been tampered with - throw away any unwrapped, opened or suspicious items
• Try to limit the amount of candy they eat
• Encourage sharing and trading to develop good habits 

At Hunter Insurance, we know that providing a good time for your children on Halloween while keeping them safe is a top priority. Therefore, we suggest that you print and keep these tips on your fridge and review them with your child so they have a full understanding of how to keep themselves away from danger. Whether you are traveling with your scary little goblins or allowing your beautiful ballerinas to venture with friends, just remind them to have fun, be safe and stay aware.

From all of us at Hunter Insurance, Happy Halloween!

Information for this article provided by: Halloween Safety Information for Parents and Halloween Health & Safety Tips

Helping Teenage Drivers

There are several things parents can do to help keep their teenagers safe behind the wheel this summer. Here are a few tips.

●      Coach your Son or Daughter. You should “coach” your teenage driver. Talk openly and frankly with him or her in order to determine his or her attitude about being behind the wheel. Work with your teen to set ground rules, such as the number of people allowed in the car, where the car may be taken, and curfew.

●      Utilize Emergency Road Service. If you do not belong to a motor club, you should consider joining one that provides 24-hour emergency road service. That way, your teenager may call for help at any time if they need gas, need a jump-start, are locked out, or need a tire changed. You can also arrange with the motor club to provide service for your teen if they are in a friend’s car.

●      Have an Open Discussion about Driving under the Influence. While no one wants to think about the possibility of their teenager drinking and driving—or being in a car with an impaired friend at the wheel—we need to be realistic. History has shown that teenagers will experiment with alcohol. You should make it clear to your teen that driving after drinking is not acceptable. However, if they ever do drink, or are in a car with someone else who is impaired, make it clear to your teen that he or she can call you at any time of the day or night and that you will come to get them—no questions asked.

Two other effective, though more costly, things that can be done are:

●      Install a “Governor.” Many vehicles—school buses and certain types of delivery vehicles are good examples—have a “governor” installed in them that restricts the amount of fuel that can be injected, thus preventing the vehicle from being driven over a certain speed. A governor in your teen’s car may help keep him or her within the speed limits.

●      Install a Global Positioning System (GPS) in your car. You can program it to let you know where your teenager is driving at any time. With the GPS, you can set a radius of operation and the GPS will notify you if your teen has taken the car outside of that radius. It can even alert you when the speed limit is being exceeded. Finally, a GPS can notify you if the car is being kept out past an agreed upon curfew. We realize that this may seem like a rather extreme measure. Use of a GPS may best serve those parents who have a reason to mistrust their teenager.

When your son or daughter gets a drivers license, work with your insurance agent to review various options for both of you. It is important for you—and your son or daughter—to remember that, yes, your auto insurance rates will go up, but they will come down after a couple years of driving experience. However, the rates will really go up if your teenager has tickets or gets into accidents.