How to Help Kids Overcome Halloween Anxiety and Nightmares
Posted by Improving Lives Counseling Services, Inc. | Mental Health, Parenting
As Halloween approaches, parents across the country are rushing out to find the perfect costume for their child. Although the Cartoon Network licensed costumes are some of the more popular ones, vampires, witches, monsters, Power Rangers, Superman, Spider Man, and ghosts make this year’s list. Selecting the perfect costume can be a fun family event, yet many parents head off alone to select what “they think” will make their little one shine. The repercussions of this decision can be dangerous. The costume choices a child makes can be a indicator of the child’s gender development processes. In today’s controversial gender-neutral leaning society, children can be confused. Little Johnny can want to be a princess and Little Susie might prefer Spider Man.
It is well established that gender-targeted products inform consumers of traits and values associated with each gender. Today’s parents approach gender roles in varied ways – some placing significant emphasis on the gender a child is assigned at birth, while others prioritize a more fluid understanding. At Improving Lives Counseling Services, our counselors, therapists, and clinicians create a safe space for children, adults, seniors, and families to explore and discuss these complex issues.”
SCARY HALLOWEEN
Most parents are aware of bad dreams, monsters under the bed or in the closet, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and clowns. However, many may not realize Halloween costumes, noises, and decorations can introduce a whole new set of fears. Children have vivid imaginations and this time of year can amplify their anxieties. Something as simple as accompanying parents or siblings as they greet trick-or-treaters in scary costumes can frighten toddlers and preschoolers. Children often show fear in unpredictable or unexpected situations and despite any preparation may withhold their fears trying to appear brave, only to face sleepless nights and bad dreams. This is especially true if older siblings or friends tease them for showing fear.
PREPARE CHILDREN
Prepare young children and adolescents weeks before Halloween. Adolescents and teens may feel they don’t need preparing; however, they too can have bad dreams and nightmares. Don’t minimize a child’s fear. Even the very young might say they aren’t afraid – and can appear overly eager for the big day to come. Children feel they must appear brave. No child, adolescent, or teen wants to admit they fear Halloween.
If older children and teens in scary costumes are trick-or-treating in your neighborhood or at Halloween parties, their size can frighten a young child or toddler. To help alleviate their fears, show your child images of masks, scary costumes, and made-up faces from the internet, flyers, or magazines. This can help them understand that these things aren’t real.
Choose Halloween activities based upon your child’s preferences, rather than your own vision of the holiday. Halloween has gained significant popularity, with retail outlets reporting that more costumes are sold to adults aged 25-34 than to children, adolescents, or teens. People are decorating their homes, playing spooky music, and hanging flying witches and blinking Halloween lights both inside and outside. Given this knowledge, it’s wise to avoid scary movies leading up to Halloween as some children struggle to separate movie characters from trick-or-treaters at the door. Counseling children during the Halloween season has become increasingly important. Both parents and children can experience anxiety and stress when mom envisions their daughter as a princess but she insists on being a witch and dad wants his son to be Spider-Man or Superman but little Johnny vows to be a vampire.
Preparing toddlers and preschoolers for scary costumes, strange noises, and seasonal decorations can be challenging; avoiding scary movies when older children are in the home isn’t easy and sibling games involving scary masks, vampire teeth, and fake blood can happen – it’s the season. Costumes are in corporate offices, post offices, doctors, and dentist’s offices. Even teachers, counselors, child-care workers, and store clerks get into the Halloween season.
SUMMARY
Halloween fears are most commonly mid-fears and not phobias, however, about one of every 100 children suffers from a phobia of costumed characters. Differentiating reality from fantasy is difficult when a character is masked. Handling and confronting these fears involves the entire family.
Improving Lives Counseling Services is here to help. As counselors, we can work through childhood fears; specifically, ones your child has failed to respond to with repeated reassurances. Our professionally trained and experienced counselors and therapists tailor counseling to meet your child’s specific needs and provide related counseling for the immediate and/or extended family.
A fearful, screaming, crying child disrupts everyone’s fun filled night and impact on the child can be hazardous. Although Halloween stores, Scary Houses, and an array of costumes are already on the scene, there is still time to schedule a counseling session. For the health of your child, your family, and the peace of mind it can bring, call us.
