KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Halloween is here, and parents want to make sure their children are safe on the scariest night of the year.
Beyond scary costumes and creative decorations, Halloween preparation for some Northland families involves conversations.
"We tell them not to run out of our sight, and they get a couple of chances before we have to have them hold our hand or something like that," Matt Blessing said.
On Friday, his family attended a trunk-or-treat event at Fox Hill Elementary.
Brandi Shatto also was there and said safety also means a conversation about traffic.
"We also had to talk about moving vehicles, making sure they're looking both ways," Shatto said.
Families want to have fun and be safe.
Amy Williams is the principal of Fox Hill Elementary School. Williams said trunk-or-treats became a favorite for many families because of the added safety.
"As a parent, we want the best for our kids," Williams said. "We hope that our world is a safe place, but you just can never be too cautious."
Shatto said the school event offers peace of mind.
"It feels a lot safer than going door-to-door and walking through yards," Shatto said.
But for families who choose to celebrate the traditional way, child protection experts offered advice.
It all starts with communication.
"Where are we going throughout our neighborhood? Are there places maybe we don't want to go? If we get separated, what's the plan?" Hunter LaFevers said.
Tagging along, using tracking devices, and carrying glow sticks are some other strategies.
"Is there a rule where after so many houses they have to send a text message to say, 'Hey, I just finished on this street, and I'm moving to the next street'?" LaFevers said.
In Clay County, officials are making sure families feel safe as they planning to go out.
"We have teams here at the sheriff's office from our sex offender registration unit, as well as some other units that are pairing up to go out and check several residences," Captain Chris Johnson said.
In Missouri, sex offenders must leave their exterior lights off after 5 p.m. on Halloween, remain inside their homes between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., and cannot have any Halloween-related contact with children.
"If they are in violation of that, then we'll start an investigation on that and forward it to the prosecutor's office for potential charges," Johnson said.
Clay County plans to have additional deputies out on Halloween to enforce these rules for the nearly 420 registered sex offenders in the area.
Last year, they identified 17 sex offenders in violation of those requirements.
Johnson said families should still plan to have fun.
"You can still go out and have a good time, but just be aware of your surroundings," Johnson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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