Managing Halloween Fears

Sometimes it seems like we celebrate Halloween for the entire month of October. I’m definitely not complaining about that – Bring on all of the costumes, pumpkin carving, trunk or treats, and hayrides! For the youngest children though, all of these events can be overwhelming and even scary. Let’s talk about some common Halloween fears and ideas for supporting children through them.

Halloween, by it’s nature is meant to be scary and children definitely pick up on that. It’s impossible to drive through a community and not see a yard display or storefront that is designed to inspire fear. For very young children, they don’t have the cultural context to understand what these are and why we’re seeing them at the moment. There are so many different pieces and parts of this particular holiday that children may misunderstand or find frightening.

Some children might have concerns about the ideas of wearing costumes, or seeing others in costumes. This is a big one, so I’ll dive deeper into it later this week. Other children may not enjoy the scary stories that seem to surround this time of year. Even the most innocent Halloween-themed books and shows contain visual images that might be frightening for young children. Children who spend time with older siblings or friends may be especially exposed to these.

Some children may have anxiety related to the idea of trick or treating – knocking on a stranger’s door and asking for something isn’t something most children do these days. Others may find the idea of being outside their homes after dark especially frightening. Another challenge for young children is simply the idea of being scared. Little ones know that they don’t enjoy the feeling of being startled or feeling afraid, and they may choose to do just about anything that will help them avoid that feeling.

One of my favorite ways to tackle these fears head on is to talk about them. I love to ask the children what it is about Halloween that they find scary during large group time. This shows the group that everyone has something they find frightening, and helps normalize those fears a bit. It also gives the children the opportunity to work through their fears with each other. I encourage them to flip their fears and find a way to make them not feel so scary. For example, if a child is afraid of the dark would they still be scared while wearing 10 glow necklaces? Or if children don’t like the idea of ghosts, would those still be frightening if they were tie-dye or always sneezing? Sometimes it’s hard for a child who truly fears something to come up with a way to flip that emotion, but the other children can be really helpful because they can brainstorm for them.

I’ll be back on Wednesday to talk a little more about costume anxiety, and on Friday I have a Halloween safety activity to share. Make sure to pop back in this week!