The Foorce

Lately I’ve been reading up on “mask acclimation” and “making Halloween fun for fearful children.” How about you?

For those of you who know her, you won’t be surprised to hear that my 2 yr old is raring to go this year. She’s going to be Annie and with her red hair and affinity for belting out Broadway tunes I don’t think she will have a problem getting lots and lots of treats. Her favorite activity lately has been donning a large black witch hat and streaking around (in nothing else) on our gross kitchen broom singing “Have You Seen The Ghost Of John?” and making up spells to cast at the “monsters peeking in our dark front hallway.”

Meanwhile, James has started saying things like, “I’ll just save trying on my costume for Halloween” and “we’ll go trick or treating later” and “it’s all just pretend, right? monsters aren’t real” and “I think a ghost is sitting outside my window.” Code for: I’m going to freak out over something come Halloween night or any other event you are planning to take us to. James and his baby brother are going as Mario and Luigi, and between the hats, mustaches and OMG the inflatable belly (think balloons) the costume James begged for is all of a sudden looking more trick than treat.

So it can’t hurt to look up a few more ideas on how to keep things scary but fun for all of my children. Here are a couple of links I’ve come across recently:

Family Ideas For Taking The Fear Out of Halloween

Mask Games

Scary Sounds Pro App  (to acclimate child to things they might be hearing at Halloween events and on the big night)

Trick or Treat Alternatives for Kids Scared By Halloween

I hope you have the right mix of tricks and treats this Halloween weekend!