Tips to make Halloween enjoyable for younger children.

Halloween is only eight evenings away!

How creative have you been with your pumpkin carving? Please tell me you bought one just for you to carve so the kids wouldn’t ruin it!! Me? Noooo.

I love that wonderful smell in the air around Halloween. That damp, autumnal smell that evokes childhood memories of crunchy leaves, dark evenings and hot chocolate.

As a child I loved Halloween, and today, with my own children, I look forward to reliving that excitement!

Children love dressing up! I remember, back in the day, when we had to make do with an old tea towel with holes for the eyes!  A sheet if we were very lucky! Today there are so many costumes available as well as makeup and props!

But while the 31st October can be a highlight for those children that love the fancy dress and the opportunity to wear a mask and make up, younger children often need a gentle approach to understanding the entertainment value and actively participating when the desired result seems to be to frighten people!

Here are my five tips to make Halloween enjoyable for your younger children:

• During the build up to Halloween, do some Halloween crafts together. Googly-eyed spiders on string, cotton wool ‘friendly’ ghosts and a smiley pumpkin carving.
• When you are in the town with your little one, go into a shop that sells the skeleton costumes, masks and werewolf gloves and let them touch and feel them so that they know that they are not real.
• Let your youngsters see your older children putting on their make up - have a couple of practice sessions.  Help them put make up on too should they want to so that they can see that it’s only pretend.
• Your youngster may not want to dress up on the evening.  Let them wear their costume on the run up to Halloween so that they feel comfortable on the night and you have time to sort out the inevitable “Scratchy bit!” And if, when the evening arrives, they still want to wear their Frozen wedding dress or Paw Patrol pyjamas, then Hey Ho, there’s always next year! And it may seem obvious, but thoughts are always with Strictly’s  Claudia at this time of year, please keep all fancy dress attire well away from flames.
• If you are anything like me, you will be caught up in all the excitement of the evening. It’s great for your older kids to see you joining in and getting into the spirit ...literally, of things! However, very little ones will never have witnessed you quite like this (out in the cold, jumping around like a loon in a witch’s hat,  yelling “Trick or Treat!” It maybe an idea to tone it down just a tad for your very little ones.  If they are in a buggy, stoop down to their level each time you knock on another door.  Encourage them to join in the chorus of “Trick or Treat!” and give them some  reassurance that Mummy hasn’t completely lost the plot!

The bottom line about Halloween is about being scared, frightened, shocked and surprised. It’s a macabre source of enjoyment but fun non the less and a lot more fun when our children know subconsciously that they are safe.

If you do have children that are worried about ghosts, ghouls and the bogeyman, those fears can be very real.  Children have amazing imaginations and some have genuine concerns about their own or their family’s personal safety.

My Mood Stars

My Mood Stars are a fun way to encourage talk about your child’s fears and worries.

With Surprised Star and Scared Star, they are ideal props to use to sensitively discuss what may be a bottled up feeling or thought.

The My Mood Stars book

The My Mood Stars book not only gives your child the opportunity to tell you about any worries or fears, but should they not have the words, has a space on each page for drawings and we all know that a picture paints a thousand words!

My Mood Stars are available here: www.mymoodstars.co.uk