Thread: Toning in down for the little ones

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Every year, I go all out with the indoor decorations; a life-sized Grim Reaper, gravestones on the hearth, spooky talking mirror, gargoyles, etc... I swap out the everyday pottery and glassware for Halloween stuff, load Halloween cds on the player, etc, etc. This in addition to my year around Gothic Halloween library. So this year, I have two little grandsons, one about to turn six, one about to turn four. The six year old is, as he always has been, intrigued by the gothic vibe, but the little one, after years of being oblivious, is suddenly skittish, and a bit frightened. I wouldn't do anything to frighten my little guy, so I am scaling back. Have any of you had to do the same?

The nearly six year old boy said to me today, "Grandma, you're turning your house into a haunted house!"


edit: okay, that was supposed to be "it", not "in"

my kids have grown up with it so they dont really think twice about it.

i would let them touch them and turn them off/ on and see the batteries/ plug - stuff like that so they can see its not 'real'. let them see the frames under stuff so they can see what its made of, etc...

anything gory i might lay off of, but since i dont decorate with much 'gore' anyways its not an issue here.

for the record, my youngest is 5....

I think fear is a very healthy instinct to have and it should be used from time to time just like every other instinct. I'm struck every year at how the tiniest little kids, 3-7 or so, will waltz right past all our props and go right up to my son who's decked out as Michael Myers and carrying a real butcher knife and ask for candy. They have no concept of fear yet in regards to monsters and the such. Then you see the older kids who can appreciate the fear factor, and even parents who get freaked out.

I have a 4yr and a 3yr old girls, and I go into great detail of showing them how it is put together, and what it is made of so they are not so scared. We talk about how much fun it is to scare the teenagers when they come to get candy, and the kids seem to really get into the haunt that way.

No gore here, I don't like that sort of thing. I like eerie, spooky, but not ooky. This year, as Grandma and Grandpa will be dressed in Hawaiian shirts and leis, as the entertainment directors of Club Dead, I don't suppose our little one will be too worried. He's already seen the skelly in the chair, (that got moved to the stair landing), and shaken its hand.

I don't like too much gore or blood either. I do love to scare the pisss outta people but would hate cleaning up after someone sheeting their pants...

I guess I'm a real stinker! Lol!

I haven't run into that problem yet, as the only small child in the family is my niece, and she's only four months old. Hopefully she'll share the rest of the family's love for the season, though!

i don't do gore either but my 3 yr old granddaughter bout crapped herself when she saw the animated talking butler guy. She really didn't like him...or his brother that stands by the front door. I'm hoping as she sees them more often, she will realize they are just toys and the real ones are just the ones buried out in the yard. Bwahahahaha.

When my kids were little, neither of them liked the dark side of Halloween. My son especially hated scary looking witches. So for a few years, I put away the scary stuff and let them have their cute witches and happy smiling ghosts. I wasn't about to have my kids scared in their own house or of my favorite holiday. They're both adults now who love Halloween. No major damage done.

Two of our dinner guests this year are just under three years old... I am going to take pictures of everything ahead of time and send the pics to their mom (my cousin) so that she can prep them. If there's anything they really can't handle (not just be a little shy of, but if it's too distractingly scary or worrying to them) I will take it down or conceal it. I have weeks and weeks to enjoy our decorations - don't need it all out at once if they aren't where they can appreciate it yet. I want them to have a good time. Although their mom and dad will let them challenge themselves a little bit - they're smart, brave kids in general.