Spooky season is here again! But “spooky” can be safe and fun at the same time.

To find out how, WellTuned spoke with Dr. Nicole Haig, an emergency medicine physician and medical director with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

“By following a few safety guidelines, you can make sure that your family has a wonderful time and creates good memories on Halloween,” says Dr. Haig.

Safety tips for a fun Halloween

Dr. Haig: Here are safety tips that can help your whole family enjoy a safe holiday:

1. Plan for safe costumes. Costumes should be flame-resistant and short enough that your child doesn’t trip. Make sure that nothing blocks their vision.
2. Use reflective materials. Add reflective tape to your child’s costume and give them glowsticks or flashlights to carry while trick-or-treating.
3. Consider the weather. Late October tends to be mild in Tennessee, but sometimes it can be chilly or rainy. Make sure your family has the right gear for those conditions.
4. Reconsider certain accessories. Experts recommend not letting your child wear cosmetic contact lenses for safety reasons. Also, you may want to skip swords, canes and any other toys that could be used as weapons.
5. Plan the route. Choose a well-lit neighborhood that’s easy to navigate.
6. Set ground rules for your family. If your kids are old enough to trick-or-treat without an adult, tell them exactly where they can go and when they need to return home. Make sure they have a working cellphone with them.
7. Talk to your kids about safety. Remind them that cars might not always stop for them, so they need to be extra careful.
8. Trick or treat earlier. Depending on where you go, you might be able to make the rounds before it gets dark.
9. Inspect treats before eating. Look at the goodies in their trick-or-treat bag before you let them eat anything.
10. Consider other ways to celebrate. You can have a great holiday in other ways, too. Visit a pumpkin patch and go on a hayride, watch a festive Halloween movie, or hold your own party at home.

Food safety and managing candy

Dr. Haig: Food safety is a big concern for many families. This can be especially nerve-wracking for parents of children with food allergies.

What you can do:

• Give safe treats to your neighbors to hand out to your own children
• Ask your kids not to touch any candy until you get home and have a chance to figure out what’s off limits
• Look for houses with teal pumpkins, a sign that a household is handing out non-food treats
• Offer to swap other types of treats or prizes for any candy that your child receives and can’t eat

Another idea: Hand out healthy treats at your home. You can still hand out candy, but you could include fruit cups, granola bars or popcorn in the mix.

“Sometimes kids will come home with a huge amount of candy,” Dr. Haig says. “Set ground rules about how much they can eat and when.”

WellTuned: Healthy Halloween tips for parents

Get more information about specific health terms, topics and conditions to better manage your health on bcbst.com. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee members can access wellness-related discounts on fitness products, gym memberships, healthy eating and more through Blue365®. BCBST members can also find tools and resources to help improve health and well-being by logging into BlueAccess and going to the Managing Your Health tab.