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| |    Taking the "Boo!" Out of Halloween Calming your child's fear of scary costumes by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. Halloween is supposed to be fun and exciting for children, but not truly frightening. However, children in preschool and early elementary school often are scared by masks and costumes that older children and adults find merely amusing. Knowing that people don't really change By age six or seven, children know that a person's identity doesn't change if he puts on different clothes or covers up his face with a mask. Before then, they are less sure. So even though a little girl really knows that the person behind the mask is her older brother, she's not entirely sure that donning the mask hasn't changed him in some frightening way. Young children even can be frightened of themselves. If they look into a mirror and see a scary witch or a monster--or a friendly creature, for that matter-- they may not be completely sure that they haven't been transformed. This perception can be so overpowering that even a parent's reassurances won't always comfort them. How children show their fright They may not show their fright in the ways we'd expect them to. Instead of crying or acting scared, they might run around and act unusually goofy. They even might become aggressive, pushing or shoving other children. Recognize this as a plea for adult attention, not bad behavior--reassure your child, distract him by engaging him in a fun Halloween activity, or, if all else fails, change him into a costume that makes him less anxious. Taking the "Boo" Out One way to make dressing up less frightening from the start is to plan a costume that doesn't cover over your child's face completely or change it so that it is unrecognizable. Makeup can be a better choice than a full mask, regular clothing might be preferable to an elaborate store-bought costume. And until you're sure that your child is enjoying her new image, don't fall into that common parenting game of pretending that a child actually has turned into her character. That may be great fun for some children, but frightening for others.
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