Taking the Fright out of Halloween: How To Support Your Child This Spooky Season

 

Spooky season is among us. For some children, this time of the year brings warm cozy feelings, excitement about costumes and candy, and eagerness about decorating your house full of ghouls and ghosts. For others, this season may bring up fear and anxiety about the festive yet scary decorations they see around the neighborhood. If your child has been expressing more anxiety surrounding the topic of Halloween, you can create a plan to help them feel more in control and calm when it comes to seeing these unexpected decorations. Below are some tips and tricks (unfortunately not treats!) to use while making a “Halloween Plan” or “Scary Decoration Plan.”

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Nighttime Anxiety and Sleep Disturbances: Putting Your Child’s Worries to Bed

 

As adults, we have all been there, it is past your “bedtime,” you are wide-eyed, staring at your ceiling and your thoughts are racing. The time flies by as you intermittently check your clock and countdown the hours until your alarm goes off in the morning, but something in you just will not let you fall asleep. Did you know that kids can experience the same type of nighttime anxiety that keeps them awake? They may not be able to identify their resistance to falling asleep as “anxiety” but parents and caregivers can teach their kids the tools they need to understand what is keeping them awake and how to address it.

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