It’s that time of year again- when the leaves change color and the weather gets slightly cooler (even here in the Southbay of Los Angeles). Whether it’s your baby’s first Halloween, or it's your child's third, these tips will help you to get your lil’ one ready for Halloween. So grab your PSL, and let’s get started.
Preparing for the night
When preparing for a big night, such as Halloween, just remember the acronym PPP (Plan, prepare, and practice). You must plan for the event, prepare in order to make the event successful, and practice for it. Let’s take a look at each step in action down below.
Plan: Start reading Halloween-themed books, such as Pete the Cat: Trick or Treat Pete and watching videos about trick or treating weeks before October 31st. This helps prime them to understand what Halloween is and what is expected of them.
Prepare: Buy a trick or treating bucket and practice at home. You can take turns saying “Trick or treat” and handing out candy. Also make sure to explain to your toddler when they can have the candy, like after trick or treating, or the next day. You can also create a visual schedule of your Halloween day to help your toddler know what to expect. For example, you can tell them- "After school we are going to have a snack, then get dressed for trick-or-treating."
Practice: You can practice trick-or-treating early by visiting one of your local malls, or kid's clubs, such as The Point, or 2nd and PCH. Make sure to dress up your child in their costumes and practice trick-or-treating, as well as saying thank you for receiving their candy.
Costumes
Make sure to choose a costume that is comfortable for your toddler, especially tactile-sensitive ones. It may be the cutest taco costume, but if it’s not comfortable your toddler is not wearing it and it can contribute to a later sensory meltdown.
Consider the overall comfort of the costume and your toddler’s tolerance for various levels of discomfort (i.e. sensory threshold). Each toddler is different and what they will wear will vary on temperament. Some will tolerate a face mask, or face paint, while others won’t. Also be mindful of the tightness of the neck and sleeves, the fabric, and comfort of the shoes to name a few sensory triggers.
Practice wearing the costume at home and make adjustments to it, if needed. For example, skipping the mask if it's too hard to see, or breathe in.
Schedule
Try to keep the schedule as similar to a typical day as possible. The more changes to a toddler’s schedule the more challenges it presents to the night of Halloween. Also, try to keep nap times and bedtimes the same, as well as snack and dinner times.
Trick or treating
Be aware of the sights and sounds of the environment that may be different and/or scary to your toddler. Some sights that may be triggering include: flashing lights, blow up decorations, as well as kids in masks and costumes. Some sounds that may be different include: fog machines, yelling, kid’s running, and loud and spooky Halloween music that may alarm your child if they are sensitive.
End early and go home happy
Alright, you did all you could to make the night a success and your toddler is still irritable and on the verge of a meltdown. Parents, that’s your sign to pack up your bags and walk back home. There’s no need to stop at that last block, just walk back and end on a good note.
I hope that these tips help make your night a smooth one and please subscribe to my email list to stay up-to-date on my latest blog posts. Happy trick-or-treating!
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