Kids frightened of Halloween night activities? What to do?

The streets are seething with frightening creatures. Has something gone horribly wrong? Most kids delight in dressing up as ghouls and goblins. Others are frightened of Halloween. Maybe an older brother or sister told them about Bloody Mary. Maybe they're just too young to understand Daddy's in that monster costume. He hasn't become Swamp Thing, he's just pretending. Whatever the case, you can ease their fears. Halloween is supposed to be fun for kids, not a traumatic experience.

Have a preventative chat.

That ounce of prevention serves well for parents in many situations Halloween is one of them. If Halloween is a new experience for your kids, or if they were frightened last year, sit down and have a talk before Halloween night. Don't get into all the old legends and origins. Present Halloween as it is now. It's just a fun night for kids to dress up in funny or scary costumes, go to parties, carnivals or trick or treating.

Have a talk with those siblings, too.

Make it clear they're not to frighten little brother or sister with tales of scary Halloween creatures. Make sure kids know vampires, ghosts and demons are fictional as well. They may be passing on fears to younger siblings in order to deal with their own uncertainties. Now might be a good time to do a little research with older kids to take the mystery out of Halloween stories.

Too late for prevention?

Kids already frightened of Halloween? It's still not too late for that talk. Have older siblings join you. Kids frightened of Halloween by siblings might be more likely to believe the perpetrator of the rumors. Have siblings fess up to trying to scare the little ones to corroborate your reassurance.

Get them involved.

Take the scare out of Halloween costumes by making them too fun to be scary. Let little ones help plan the scariest outfits for Mom, Dad and siblings. Have them help you decorate the yard. When they know what goes into costumes and decor, they won't be so frightened by the final effect. Do have a talk about Halloween safety. Use fun catchy rhymes and songs to help them remember safety rules. Don't make it so scary they become even more frightened.

Avoid sheltering your child from Halloween fears.

Halloween comes every year. You can't shelter them for the rest of their lives. Eventually they will have to learn to face their fears. Experiencing life first hand is the best way to alleviate fear in any situation. Halloween is no exception to the rule. Show kids the fun side of Halloween. Soon, they'll be looking forward to it, rather than being frightened by it.