Halloween and the Anxious Child: 7 Tips to Reduce Stress

Here comes Halloween. Grocery stores, big box stores, even the local hardware store, are festooned with pumpkins, life sized figures of skeletons and witches and graveyards. It’s all in fun, right? Right. But not for the anxious child. An anxious child already seems to have nerve endings too close to the surface. Generally nervous about new experiences and the unfamiliar, Halloween presents an additional challenge. For some anxious children, Halloween is the monster under the bed writ huge! Things that go “bump in the night” are not at all entertaining. What’s a parent to do? If you have a child under the age of 7, especially if your child tends to be anxious, it may be helpful to remember some basic principles about this age group. First, remember that toddlers and preschoolers are at the age of what is called “magical thinking”. They often really can’t tell the difference between what is real and what is pretend.  You understand that a scary mask is just a mask. Little ones often think that the mask is a real monster. Often this stage lasts to some extent until age 6 or 7. Second, it’s equally important to remember that one of the “jobs” of childhood is learning how to master and cope with fears. It is not a service to any child, even the highly anxious child, to go to great lengths to avoid everything about Halloween. Doing so only reinforces their idea that Halloween is too scary for them to handle. The holiday can be an opportunity to help your child...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anxiety Children and Teens Family Parenting anxiety. worry Anxious Children Child safety Halloween Safety Plan Source Type: news