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Don’t try to mask your small child's fears
Published October 28, 2009
Witches, ghosts, bloody creatures, pirates, Dracula and more are among the many characters that will be lurking around from now until Saturday night when Halloween officially makes its appearance.
It might be OK for you and me; after all, we are grown up, unless, of course, someone shows up dressed as a clown. Coulrophobia, a distinct fear of clowns, is fairly common among adults. It has been my observation that most adults are too embarrassed to mention their fear of the big-footed guy, but see? You’re not the only one!
This time of year can be disastrous for our little children. They know what humans are supposed to look like and when they see these costumes that are moving around, talking and screaming, they are not able to make the connection that a person is actually inside all of the clothes and under the makeup.
To be afraid of costumes in general is a phobia called masklophobia, which also means fear of mascots. But costumes can cause more specific phobias such as santaphobia, a fear of Santa Claus, and leporiphobia, a fear of the Easter Bunny or even the live little bunnies.
These are phobias that parents sometimes don’t take seriously when their little one is plopped down in Santa’s lap for a picture and they walk away with a picture of their screaming little child.
This is a good time of year to talk to your child about his fears. Refrain from saying, “There is nothing to be afraid of.”
Your child needs you to understand that his fear is real. Talk to your child about the Halloween costumes and tell him that people like to put these on to run around and play in. You might try taking him or her to look at costumes especially the familiar, less scary ones such as Dora or Mickey Mouse.
If your child is willing you can take one off the rack and talk to your child about the costume. Explain about putting the costume on to play. Costumes without face covers are the least scary if the makeup is omitted. Let your child hold a costume if he likes and laugh and play with it.
If everything is going OK so far, you can point to the scary ones down the aisles and say, “See, there are more costumes to play in, but we don’t have to look at those if you don’t want to.” Follow your child’s reactions. Never force your child to come in contact with the scary costumes unless he or she wants a closer look and be there to support your child if you get this far.
If he or she gets scared then you and your child need to walk away, but keep the communication lines open if your child has any questions.
As the months progress we’ll talk about ways to get better pictures with Santa and the Easter Bunny. I think you have enough to deal with this week.
Jean Paul is a former resource program director for Youth and Family Counseling Services. Contact her at Jmpaul2(at)gmail.com.
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