News

For Immediate Release

October 1, 2020

As State & Federal Health Officials Urge Caution for Trick-or-Treating, Safety of Popular Halloween Activity has become a New Parenting Issue

Parents may disagree with one another on the risk of trick-or-treating for their children as both federal and state public health agencies advise caution for the popular Halloween activity amid COVID-19. The Illinois Department of Public Health today urged trick-or-treaters to social distance this Halloween and recommended that “the safest way to celebrate is to stay home.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently advised against trick-or-treating.

Whether it is married couples or divorced partners, the safety of trick-or-treating has become a new parenting issue. Chicago Family Law Attorney Gemma Allen recommends parents work together and agree on a plan for their children’s Halloween.

“For many children, going trick-or-treating is a special childhood pastime and unfortunately the popular Halloween activity has become another parenting time concern amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Allen, senior partner with Allen & Glassman, Chartered Family Law. “Parents should listen to each other, evaluate their risk level and come to an agreement on a fun Halloween activity.”

The CDC recommendation came as part of a list if Halloween guidelines broken down by level of risk. According to the CDC, door-to-door trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treating “where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots” and indoor parties or haunted houses are among the riskiest Halloween activities when it comes to preventing the spread of COVID-19. The CDC recommendations for low risk activities includes:

• Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
• Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
• Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
• Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
• Having a virtual Halloween costume contest

Please visit the CDC for additional Halloween Activities:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html#:~:text=If%20you%20may%20have%20COVID,to%20trick-or-treaters

Gemma Allen is partner of Allen & Glassman , where for more than 20 years, the firm has helped families make life decisions to help resolve difficult matters and move forward. Allen is the author of Secrets of Successful Partners, a compilation of interviews she conducted with successfully married couples of all ages. She also wrote a book with retired Cook County Judge Michele Lowrance and financial writer and money advisor Terry Savage: The New Love Deal: Everything You Must Know Before Marrying, Moving In, or Moving on!, which fearlessly explores the financial and practical issues that couples confront, and the agreements that can resolve these differences. Gemma’s Marriage Money Gems with Gemma Allen offers parenting and financing advice on national TV shows. She also appears on national TV and radio and is a contributing writer and blogger.