Halloween, the "scary" holiday and its impact on children's psychology

The Halloween holiday has ancient origins, and all over the world it continues to be a fun holiday for adults and children alike, accompanied by disguises and a mysterious atmosphere.

Although it is considered a fun holiday, it can still have negative psychological impacts for many children.

According to child psychologist Bardha Gërdovci, Halloween with scary scenes, masks, and strange noises can cause fear and anxiety in young children, so parents should be informed in advance that this is a celebration and is different from reality.

"We cannot avoid holidays such as Halloween, since we cannot avoid them, we have to talk to children where we explain the difference between imagination and reality. In these holidays we have an unhealthy imagination where an inner character of each person appears. There is also a positive side because children develop their imagination and face fear in a healthy way. Young children do not yet understand the part of reality with imagination, so it depends on their age when to talk to them and tell them that it is just a holiday and not something real. The characters chosen for children should be appropriate for their age. Ages 1-2 should not have costumes that show violence and fear, but should have superheroes, girls like princesses, where their fear is relieved and they should not be exposed in a place where it is beyond their age, because it can cause anxiety and emotional harm," emphasizes Gërdovci.

Children should not necessarily be part of this celebration if they do not express a desire to, but if they have already been exposed and have experienced it with fear, according to Gërdovci, professional help from a psychologist should be sought.

"In moments when the child is shy or hesitant to be part of the party, we should not put pressure. If the child is not ready to understand that it is just imagination, a game or a party where we express our inner imagination, we as parents should not necessarily expose him to those places. But if he is exposed unintentionally, we should talk calmly with him, explain that it is something imaginary and not reality. If we see that the child has a sleep disorder, anxiety, cries more, hesitates to go out in open places where he has been unintentionally exposed, then professional help is needed and a conversation with a psychologist is needed, different approaches should be used to reduce the phobia or fear," explains Gërdovci.

Psychology explains that trauma is difficult to heal, and Halloween is not recommended for young people, especially when there are scary characters and scenes that do not match their age.
"When fear is created, we call it trauma. The child has seen something for which he was not prepared, when this is created, this trauma takes more time to heal. We as psychologists are not in favor of this celebration because the chances of the child being traumatized are high, especially at a celebration when there are different ages," declares Gërdovci.
She adds that children express their feelings through the costumes they choose to wear on these holidays. At the same time, we learn more about their personality and how they view life.

"A double-edged sword is when this holiday is included in any space, especially in schools. The costume a child chooses for the holiday or the colors say a lot about their inner feelings, how they see life. They have no words to explain it, but the costumes do this. The increase in fear and lack of sufficient information for children, we need to know how we are introducing this holiday into schools, whether we are scaring them or showing them that it is a positive holiday to develop their imagination and feelings. It all depends on how we see it and what we do on this holiday," adds Gërdovci.

Although Halloween is seen as a fun holiday, it can bring situations that create fear and anxiety for children, especially when they are faced with scary images and scenes that are inappropriate for their age. Therefore, it is important for parents to be attentive, explain to children the difference between fantasy and reality, and choose activities and costumes that are appropriate for their age. Support, conversation, and a caring approach help make this holiday a positive and non-traumatic experience for children.