Parenting Tips
By Myrna B. Shure, Ph.D
For the WHYY Children's Service

It's Halloween: Help Kids Feel Scary, Not Scared

You want your children to have fun this Halloween, but be safe. We always looked at the candy our kids brought home from trick-or-treating. We always made sure they weren't alone, or if they were old enough to be alone, we trusted them not to go to stranger's home. With world events as they are, you may feel some extra concern about your children's safety, if only because of the heightened possibility for pranks that might be harmless, but scary.

Let your children pick out costumes that are "scary." Although it may bother you a little, being extra spooky this year may help children cope with any anxieties they may be feeling.

Use this time as an opportunity to get even more involved with your kids. Let them know how much you care about them. If they insist on going trick-or-treating and are of the age when they don't want you tagging along, let them know honestly how you feel about that. Try to come to a compromise - perhaps you stay behind them, where their friends can't see you, but you can watch your kids. That way, your kids won't feel, as one child put it, "like a nerd." This may be a great opportunity for your kids to appreciate that you have feelings too.

Here are some things you can do together, as a family:

• Have a home party and let your kids invite all of their friends.
• Set up "Haunted House" in your garage or in your home, and let the neighborhood kids join in the fun.
• Reserve a bowling alley for the evening and the kids bowl as "Spiderman," "Count Dracula," a ghost, or whoever they want to be.
• Let your children think up ideas to do together as a family.

Whatever organized party you arrange, let everyone bring treats and have a trick-or-treat game during the evening. The child who collects the most treats can win a little prize. Or prepare a certificate to the "Champion Trick-or-Treater," October 31, 2002. Be sure and leave a space where you can write the child's name.