Comfort In the Fear of Halloween

I came across the article, "This Halloween, Banish The Boo For Anxious Children" recently and it came to my attention in an interesting way. Most people are excited for the fall season, carving pumpkins, cute sweaters, and hot chocolate! Growing up I always looked forward to this time of the year because it meant time inside spent with friends and family. Halloween is just the beginning of this wonderful season, but something I never thought about was it could bring genuine fear. Yes, Halloween is correlated with scary things, but I always felt it was the type of scary that happens for fun. This article speaks about different techniques of how to avoid the anxiety produced in some children by this holiday. 

I feel this article speaks of very effective methods, especially because it resonates with what I believe is so beautiful about this holiday and season. Time spent together with people you care about. It talks about having children spend time with others, " 1. Host a Halloween Party: Avoid complicated trick or treating for your socially anxious child. Have a special, small party at your home that you can control and scale down the massive neighborhood spectacle.

4. The Buddy System: Encourage your children to invite a favorite friend to join the trick or treating. By being proactive, the social anxiety can be avoided."

Another tip that I thought was effective was planning. Making sure your kid feels that the night will be a good one, that they have a sense of security. "2. Write a Social Story: Anxious tweens and teens can benefit from an easy-to-understand social story that maps out the holiday and allows for pre-planning.

3. Create a Time-Based Schedule: With your child, plot out the evening starting with getting dressed up and ending with counting candy at the kitchen table. Schedule to the rescue!" The more I read the different actions you can take to help your kid the more I agreed because at first I wouldn't think much of the fear part, because of so many good experiences, but then I realized that these are good possibilities of why I enjoyed the holiday so much. Each Halloween was predictable for me, I would go with friends, go to Halloween parties, get ready with friends and come home and eat candy. It was familiar, routine, and comfortable. Im not saying that if I didn't have those experiences I would have been crippled with fear of the holiday, but they may have contributed in my good experiences. With that noted, these things could definitely help someone else who doesn't have as much fun during this time of the year.   

Article: http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/worrier-warrior/201410/halloween-banish-the-boo-anxious-children