Published on
updated on
Reading 3 min.
in collaboration with
Stéphane Clerget (Child psychiatrist)
Medical validation:
November 1, 2024
Faced with scary images and stories of Halloween, how can we avoid traumatizing young children? And how can we help them overcome their fears? Dr Stéphane Clerget answers us.
Halloween is a time awaited by many French people, young and old alike. But while candy and horror films will soon return to populate homes, how can you protect your children from scary images and disguises? Dr Stéphane Clerget, child psychiatrist, gives us some valuable advice.
Halloween: potentially anxiety-provoking images and stories
Ghosts, witches, mummies, werewolves, vampires… Halloween is full of scary characters and settings. The monsters only have a short time to haunt the streets and scare families before leaving. The stories told by the older ones, carved pumpkins and bloody sweets are also there… to make you shiver with pleasure.
“It’s a time when we play with fears and in particular the fear of death. The game of fear is also a collective way of facing our fears with other children or family members” , reveals Dr Stéphane Clerget.
The problem ? If this terrifying universe stimulates (positively) children’s imagination, some may have difficulty distinguishing between reality and imagination. Others, more sensitive, will also show nothing on the big day and then have nightmares long after.
It is therefore essential to protect young people from these Halloween decorations, costumes and films which can arouse intense emotions in little ones.
Stories around death, blood (vampire…), black magic or spirits can particularly be disturbing and generate irrational fears.
Protect young people by providing them with a secure environment
Demystifying Halloween images, choosing the films shown carefully, allowing children to share their fears… These are all good reflexes that will allow little ones to experience a more serene Halloween evening, explains Dr. Stéphane. Clerget, child psychiatrist.
- Favor written stories over films. “THE horror movies are more likely to cause anxiety in toddlers than books. Indeed, what he reads is always limited to what he can imagine. On the other hand, films can contain very violent scenes; it is therefore preferable to avoid them, especially if you have not previously viewed the one you plan to show to the children. Watching the film together is another possible option, but in any case: letting your child be terrified in front of images is of no use“, warns the practitioner.
- Do not trust the legal age of films. “Scenes from films purported to be age-appropriate can cause deep anxiety in children, even weeks later,” alert the child psychiatrist.
- Prefer “happy endings”. “If you want to watch a Halloween movie with your family, prefer those with a happy ending, where fear is overcome, where fear is victorious“, underlines the specialist.
- Emphasize the rational. “As a parent, it is important to provide explanations about what causes the fear“, says Dr. Stéphane Clerget.
- Use this celebration to allow the child to be active. “Instead of your child is afraiduse Halloween to get him active, to scare him. He can even wear the disguise of the monster he fears to allow him to gain the upper hand.” advises the psychiatrist.
- Help the child talk about his or her fears. “Finally, be receptive to your child and his anxieties. Halloween allows him to have a representation of his fears, but they already exist. You must therefore give him free space to talk about his anxieties “, recommends the practitioner.
And in the event of trauma? “He will talk about it repetitively.” In this case, it is important that the images or scenes that marked it are externalized: “he must be able to tell them, draw them, put them in writing to control his fear“, concludes the specialist.
Slide: Halloween: 30 costume ideas for children