Hello All! Elizabeth
here with a few tips to help you and your child prepare for a wonderful
Halloween experience.
Halloween is an exciting time. With excitement comes
unpredictability. I don’t know about
you, but that’s not my favorite thing in the world. I like to anticipate how my costume will
work, the routine of trick-or-treating, and set realistic expectations for
Halloween-themed events.
I recommend practicing wearing a costume for a few minutes
at a time. Increase wearing time over a
few days so that your child feels comfortable and you have time to make any
adjustments (like removing itchy tags, etc.) before the big event. This is especially true if the costume
includes a mask.
You may want to practice dressing up to so that your child
feels comfortable seeing you in costume and understands that familiar people
will look different on Halloween.
In my experience, grandparents and neighbors would love to
help your child practice the trick-or-treating routine. Depending on your child’s comfort separating
from you, you can help her walk to the door, knock, say ‘trick-or-treat’,
accept a treat, say ‘thank you’, and walk away.
Sometimes, the concept of accepting whatever is dropped into the treat
bag can be tough. Perhaps letting her know ahead of time that she can trade
their loot for a prize at the end or swap for favorite candy with siblings or
friends can make it easier to accept a non-preferred option.
Let’s return to the unpredictable aspects of Halloween. Halloween is full of surprises. Some fun and spooky and some just plain
scary. More on that in a moment. Give your child a rough outline of the events
he can expect. If attending a school carnival, talk about what kinds of games
and activities there will be and estimate how long you will be there. Perhaps you’re going trick-or-treating in a
different neighborhood, you could drive by in advance, or go for an evening
walk to get used to how cold it will be and estimate how many houses you will
go to.
Halloween is also a great time to work on language skills.
Describing the way houses, characters, and decorations look is encouraged. Describing the emotions they evoke is even
better! I love to take this as an
opportunity to discuss things that are ‘spooky’ versus things that are
‘scary’. To me, ‘spooky’ includes things
like fake spiders and ghosts hanging from trees. Flickering lights and
Halloween music are ‘spooky’ to me.
‘Spooky’ things might be creepy, but fun, and do not make me feel
threatened or afraid. ‘Scary’ can be a
different story. I put haunted houses,
life-like animatronic skeletons, and people who are still until you approach
and then pounce, in the ‘scary’ category.
Giving your child the
language to tell you if she thought something was ‘spooky’ or ‘scary’ before
Halloween night can certainly help you avoid a situation where she might feel
genuinely afraid and unsafe. Those kind
of feelings tend to linger and can taint memories and future Halloween
experiences. Talk with your child about
what to say if she scared. Reassure her
that you are there and she is safe.
Reading books about Halloween is also a fun way to prepare
and gives you and your child a chance to connect leading up to this fun
holiday.
