If your child is scared of Halloween these expert tips can help them feel safe
A psychologist explains how children process fear and gives advice to parents on how to help kids cope and have a happy Halloween
As an adult who has seen Halloween on repeat for decades, it can be easy to forget how frightening and confusing a child might find it all.
Halloween’s deathly origins are thousands of years old and can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. It was believed that on one day of the year – November 1 – the souls of the deceased returned to roam among the living, who dressed up in costumes to scare the spirits off.
Modern-day trick-or-treating has scary beginnings, too. It is believed to have begun with “souling”: going from door-to-door begging for “soul cakes” in exchange for prayers for the dead in purgatory – the poor spirits trapped between heaven and earth.
The key ingredient to a successful Halloween night is fright. The problem is that many children are too small to appreciate it is not real because to them it feels real.
Feeling afraid affects adults and children differently because the brain of an adult is much more mature than the brain of a child.
