How to Prepare Your Children for Halloween

Halloween is a spooky and exciting holiday for many kids. This holiday affords a lot of opportunities for fun when safety is taken into account. For many kids, however, Halloween can be an overwhelming and challenging holiday.  Children with autism and anxiety, in particular, can find this holiday highly overstimulating and scary, but with the right preparation and knowledge, Halloween can be fun for every child!

 

Halloween Safety Tips

Research shows that 70% of parents do not accompany their child during trick-or-treating and 65% of parents do not discuss Halloween safety tips with their children (Protect America). Traffic accidents also spike on Halloween. By providing your kids with yearly preparation and supervision, your child can have a safe and fun Halloween. Here are some tips to discuss with your child:

• Stress the importance of stranger danger and staying with the adult/children they are traveling with
• Do not walk into anyone’s house
• Do not go trick-or-treating in an unfamiliar area
• Always walk on sidewalks
• Carry a flashlight
• Plan out a route/map and walk through it with the child prior to the day
• Check your child’s candy before they eat any of it

 

How to Prepare Your Child for the Holiday

Halloween can be scary, unpredictable and even uncomfortable for children, especially those who experience elevated levels of anxiety as well as children on the autism spectrum. The changes in daily routine and general surroundings can be very difficult for children to adjust to. There are several strategies to help kids cope with the Holiday while having fun. Here are some tips to prepare your child for Halloween Day:

• Talk with your child’s teacher in advance to create a back-up plan, or alternate room, where your child can calm down if dysregulated during school related festivities.
• Use symbols and pictures to explore your child’s fears around costumes and decorations. Teach them that decorations are fake and that there are familiar people underneath costumes.
• Stick to your daily routine as much as possible. Make the holiday fit into your child’s daily schedule instead of the other way around.
• Plan out your trick-or-treating route in advance and do a walk through of the route in the daytime a few days before Halloween.
• Find a costume that fits and feels like your child’s normal clothes and have them try it on several times prior to Halloween Day. You may also want to look for sensory friendly costumes at your local stores.
• Find alternative plans to trick-or-treating. You may choose to throw a small party, sit on the porch with your child and watch others trick-or-treat, watch movies, or have them help you pass out candy.
• Maintain normalcy at home by keeping one room in your house typically decorated. This provides a space for your child to relax or  calm down in if they become dysregulated or overwhelmed.
• Follow your child’s lead. Respond to their cues. They know when they have had enough, so don’t push them too hard.

 

Halloween Activities for Children with Autism

There are several Halloween activities designed to meet the needs of children with autism. These activities can be done in school or at home. Some activities include:

• T-shirt decorating: decorate a comfy t-shirt with a Halloween theme
• Spider Races: use a straw to blow toy spiders across a finish line
• Frankenstein/Ghost Bowling: create spooky pins with old paper towel rolls
• Make Halloween Jars
• Paint or Draw on Pumpkins to avoid the seeds and guts inside the pumpkin
• Halloween Coloring Pages
• Read a Halloween book (The Berenstain Bears Trick-or-Treat, Llama Llama Trick-orTreat, Room on the Broom, Clifford’s Halloween, Franklin’s Halloween)

You may also want to check out the Halloween related events and activities offered in your local community. Centria Autism Services is offering a sensory friendly Halloween Party in Dearborn for children under the age of 16 to enjoy Halloween activities and crafts. LifeLab Kids is offering a sensory friendly Halloween party in Ferndale for kids of all ages to enjoy activities, crafts, music and treats. Ann Arbor also offers a Halloween sensory friendly event with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. There are many other events offered within Ann Arbor throughout the month of October for all kids to enjoy if you follow these links.

• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sensory-friendly-halloween-party-registration-75248733989
• https://annarborwithkids.com/events/categories/holidays/halloween/
• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sensory-friendly-halloween-party-at-detroit-kid-city-presented-by-centria-autism-tickets-71691026791

In Summary…

This time of year can be exciting for some kids, and very difficult for others. With the right preparation and awareness, you can help your child enjoy Halloween. There are many fun activities for all children to enjoy during this time of year. As a family, you can work on creating a holiday tradition that the entire family looks forward to. 

 

References

America, P. (n.d.). 13 Scary Halloween Safety Stats: Protect America. Retrieved from https://www.protectamerica.com/scary-halloween

Axcis Education. (2017, October 17). Halloween activities for children with autism.     Retrieved from http://testblog.axcis.co.uk.gridhosted.co.uk/2017/10/halloween-   activities-for-children-with-autism/

Clerkley, C. (2016, October 23). Halloween Tips and Tricks. Retrieved from     https://www.autism-society.org/halloween-tips-and-tricks/

Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health. (2019, April 19). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html

Salyer, L. (2018, October 16). Halloween tips for children with anxiety, autism and     sensory challenges. Retrieved from             https://www.comfortinganxiouschildren.com/make-halloween-happier-children-  anxiety-autism-sensory-processing-disorders/