What Do You Do With Children Who Are Scared Of Halloween?

[Country Kids]

I have a couple who just do not like halloween-dck's that is. I really do no scary decorating but will do webs with spider rings in them for some of the decorating. They freak about it every year (3 years now). The parents even show them its fake and touch it but the kids are scared to death. I tried playing scary music-chains rattling, moaning, etc. and they were not in for it at all which was fine but some of the kids really enjoyed it.

I've thought of not doing any decorating but my own kids really get upset by that because they feel like we have to do what the dck's want. One of the kids are a SA (younger one) but has been like this since very little. My one daughter was watching Nancy Drew (the movie) and this one got scared because there were bad guys in it.

So would you just not decorate and tell your own kids to get over it or decorate and let the dck's get over it. My one child loves to do all the decorating and does nothing gory, scary or anything like that.

[Zoe]

Is there any part of your house that the kiddos don't go? Maybe that part of the house your own kids can go crazy decorating scary stuff there and then you can do general pumpkin/cats/etc in the daycare part of the room?

[Country Kids]

Whoops, forgot to include-this is the decorating outside that they are scared of.

[spud912]

I wouldn't go over the top, but I would do what you normally do. I have a dck that is terrified of the blender, food processor and vacuum....doesn't stop me from doing any one of those things while he is present. He is also scared of remote-control helicopters and vehicles, the dump truck and other loud vehicles. We don't avoid any of it just for his sake. I guess I believe that if he is exposed to it enough, maybe he will toughen it up. I think the more these kids are "sheltered," the more scared they will be.

[Zoe]

Ok if it's the outside of your house and it isn't anything that scary, AND it doesn't bother the other kids, I wouldn't change anything. It has been 3 years, the family is still with you and dcm doesn't appear to mind from what you wrote, the kids can get over it for the 5 seconds they are coming into your house. That would drive me nuts.

I had a girl who was terrified of a dinosaur toy we had. Can't say I blame her, it moved. But the other kids weren't scared of it so I kept it. Eventually she got used to it! Moral of the story being keep your Halloween decorations. They aren't that scary and it means a lot to your kids.

[SilverSabre25]

Question--what would you do if it was one of your OWN children who didn't like the decorations, but the rest of them did?

[spud912]

Question--what would you do if it was one of your OWN children who didn't like the decorations, but the rest of them did?

If it were me, I treat the dck's the exact same as my own. I know my husband would especially try to "condition" our kids to unnecessary fears of silly things. We raise our kids to be Spartans ::::.

[daycarediva]

If it were me, I treat the dck's the exact same as my own. I know my husband would especially try to "condition" our kids to unnecessary fears of silly things. We raise our kids to be Spartans ::::.

HAHAHA!!! My husband actually SAID once "This is SPARTA!!!" ::

One of my dck's is PETRIFIED of everything. The orange halloween lights (but not multicolored christmas lights) the countryish decor, (yes pumpkins and gourds on hay) EVERYTHING. It drives his mother crazy! The only concession I am making is not having him come to the halloween party. I talked to Mom about it, and we both agreed he wouldn't have much fun.