By Kristin Krarup-Joyce
Since school started, all my 5- and 7-year-old daughters have been talking about is Halloween – decorations for the house, costumes for the school parade and how their friends will be dressing up.
But, when the time came to actually go into the Halloween store, they both clung to me, one started to cry and the other said, “We don’t need to get spider webs for the bushes today, can we leave?”
Last night when my 2nd-grader pulled her book to read out of her backpack titled “Mr. Boney Legs,” she became scared and immediately jumped out of her seat and said: “I don’t want to read this one today. Can you tell my teacher we picked one from home instead?”
I know that the teacher was just trying to make their nighttime reading homework related to the fun of Halloween.
However, Halloween is a difficult concept for many children, especially those under the age of 10, who still have a difficult time separating make-believe from reality. Masks, spooky decorations and loud, creepy music can be overwhelming.
During this week, with lots of Halloween celebration around us, it is important to look for signs of distress that children may have about Halloween or events they are asked to participate in to celebrate the holiday.
Respect a child’s wishes to engage or not engage in various holiday activities. Let them know that, yes, sometimes Halloween is scary, even for grown-ups! Normalize their worries and fears.
Above all, reassure them that an adult or caregiver they trust will be there to keep them safe.
(Courtesy of: The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children.)
