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41 ASK DR. SHARON Go With The Halloween Flow Five-years-old is a stage of development that is called the magical thinking stage. Your child may not separate real from make believe, so this is a more common situation than you think. Many children have these fears, but most children grow out of this stage at six or seven years old. Some children are more sensory sensitive to noises and scary costumes than others. Numerous children may even get freaked out over creepy decorations. Do not minimize his fears. Look for alternatives to the holiday if you think he will be frightened. Have a special night out to a movie or his favorite restaurant. Focus on Fall and the fun parts of the season. Carve pumpkins and decorate with a fall theme, and not the scary ��gures of the night. Go to pumpkin patches and draw scarecrows or characters that are not intimidating to him. Make pumpkin pie or pumpkin cookies together. If your son is afraid but still wants to trick- or-treat, dress him in a costume that he chooses. He can wear his pajamas and they can be made into a costume. Buy faux fur from the craft sore and put fur at the end of the legs and arms of pajamas and around the neck to make a lion. Try putting dinosaur scales down his pajama back, or add a cowboy hat and boots. Try other comfortable nonthreatening costumes. Make a Minion out of a yellow hoodie with overalls and big 3D glasses with the lenses cut out. Spray paint a disposable roasting pan and tie it to his back to make a ninja turtle. If your son likes ��remen, policemen, or pirates, have him dress in less scary out��ts or characters that are in his dressup box. If all that fails, there are shirts at local stores with a Halloween theme on the front. doctorotis@nextgenmagazine.org Practice wearing these homemade out��ts around the house for several weeks before Halloween to build his con��dence. If he still does not like the idea of a costume, just put on a ��annel shirt and jeans and call him a construction worker. He might not be in a costume this year but it is not a big deal. Find his comfort level before the season begins, and discuss what he would like to wear. Practice trick-or-treating and walking with your child to the door. If your child is uncomfortable with this tradition, he can also stay home and help hand out the candy so he can see that there is no threat. Do not worry about what other people say if he is not dressed. Many churches offer pumpkin festivals on that same night, and he may enjoy going there. There are many replacements to Halloween, so go with the ��ow this year - and have a Happy Halloween! ������������������������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� What can i do to make this holiday easier for him? – KH, Palmetto


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