Halloween is quite a unique event for children to understand. Some take to it immediately, while some aren’t so keen. It’s not hard to see why. Halloween is fun, but it can be quite scary to a developing mind, and of course, they may not be able to detach the fun of the event from real fear. That, and the idea of potential monsters or scary creatures lurking around the corner, only warded off by your doorstep pumpkin, is quite worrying.

As such, preparing your child for their first Halloween so they can engage with the fun of the event instead of feeling scared motionless is probably a good idea. This of course means understanding what they’ll be exposed to. Preventing them from seeing any horror material on the television or from movies outside of their age range, ensuring you attend appropriate Halloween parties, and properly framing the event is important.

Let’s consider how to help them prepare and feel excited, rather than fearful, of this fun calendar event.

Have Fun With The Costume

There’s no shame in having a little fun dressing up and being silly about it. With the best Halloween costumes to get started, and perhaps some willingness to make a few accessories (crafting a broomstick out of a large, long piece of wood, some twice and bristles can be a great time), you get to enjoy the creative fun involved with Halloween, even if you leave off some of the ‘scarier’ aspects such as dimming the lights, placing skeletons and scary figures around the house, and avoiding houses in your neighborhood that are bound to be a little much.

Celebrate The Halloween Eats

Halloween can be a great time for food, but of course, we tend to think more of the desserts as opposed to the general cuisine here. Perhaps you could craft a fun cake together, enjoy a pumpkin pie, or simply craft some party food and then sit down in front of a fun movie with your kids. If you’re not feeling a little sickly by the end of the Halloween night, some people may suggest you’ve not gone far enough. We’ll leave that up to your discretion, of course.

Trick Or Treating With Trusted Neighbors

Trick or treating can be a fun time, but of course, it also means going outside where others will be, and perhaps your child will be less confident if they see hordes of people dressed as zombies or people coming and going from the local bar. Instead, arranging a fun group of trusted local families to knock on a few doors can help your child feel more comfortable in numbers, and they’ll no doubt have a great deal of fun instead of worrying about actual monsters around the corner.

With this advice, you’re sure to prepare your child for their first Halloween in the best possible sense. Remember that there’s no shame in scaling back the festivities based on how sensitive they are to the ‘fun of fear.’