Hi Moms (and Dads)-
My son is 4 1/2. He likes scary Halloween stuff but at the same time he's scared of it. I've been trying to have him pick out his costume for weeks but he won't. We go to this Halloween store by our apartment all the time and he's not interested in picking a costume out. Anyone have this problem and if so, what did you do?
This is normal.. Children like being scared, but sometimes, it gets the best of them..
Is he afraid of going Trick or Treating? Ask him.
If he does not want to go Trick or Treating, do not make him.
Let him know you just want him to pick out something in case he changes his mind.
He can hand out candy..
Or if he has somthing already at home.. have it ready for in case he changes his mind.
I would try a smaller store. For my son (who is 2) we just took him to Old Navy and they had like 6 costumes to choose from. The store wasn't all dark and spooky, so he didn't get scared or anything.
If he doesn't want to do it just go with something that he can wear normal clothes. Put him in a flannel shirt and overalls with some straw sticking out and call him a farmer. The holiday is for him anyway, if he doesn't want to dress up, no big deal.
Maybe you can find pictures from their website, have him look at them and pick one, then go buy it. Maybe being in the store overwhelms his brain.
The Halloween stores can be overwhelming. Is there a particular character he likes to pretend play, like superheroes or pirates or a cartoon character? I would just pick something like that without him. If he doesn't want to go trick or treating you can stay home and pass out candy, and the costume can go into his toy box :)
I'm with Patricia! Show him some online and see what he likes, then go buy it without him. If he doesn't want to go trick or treating, maybe stay home on Monday and make caramel apples and have apple cider or something.
Are there any superhero or cartoon characters he likes? What about police officer, firefighter, construction worker or doctor (or any other profession requiring a uniform)? My oldest son has always liked scary stuff but been afraid of it too -so he's been a lion, a policeman, a cowboy and Batman -and this year he's Wolverine from the XMEN. Just tell him he needs to wear a costume for trick or treating but that it doesn't have to be scary.
Have you had a talk with him about what he wants to do when Halloween comes? Have you read books where kids wear costumes? What did you guys do last year? When my son was 2 1/2 he did not understand Halloween beyond going door to door, saying trick or treat and getting candy. His "costume" was horrible. He didn't pick anything and I ended up getting skeleton pants on him but he screamed and cried over putting on the shirt so he went with a polo shirt that did not match AT ALL. Your son is old enough to talk to and I love the idea of looking on-line.
Choose something for him ;)
OR, look online, like party city dot com, and give him 2 or 3 options, and have him pick one. If he still won't choose, then don't go trick or treating!
Don't push it too much. We had this problem last year. My son VERBALLY wanted to be Superman, but after I bought and showed him the costume, forget it. He didn't want anything to do with that costume. I finally got him to wear a plastic fireman hat on Halloween to trick or treat, and even that wasn't easy.
This year, different story. He wants to be Superman, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, a skeleton and a fireman - can't make up his mind. He's at school dressed as Superman right now. He even wanted to wear the costume to bed last night.
Just ride along with whatever he wants this year and expect that he will probably feel very different next year. Some kids just aren't all that into costumes.
you should tell him he can be literally anything for Halloween and it doesn't have to be scary, does he think it has to be a scary thing?
anyway, you can always show him pictures online, like on party city dot com or some other costume website. then you can just go buy it wherever.
My son is the same age and he is going to be Super Why from the PBS cartoon. We found it at a garage sale a co-worker had over the summer, and he just had to have it!! Now, he still likes the costume, but is bothered by the fact that we didn't buy it from the store. Crazy kid!! lol
Maybe you could purchase a few costumes that he may like and bring them home and let him try them on. Might be less pressure than at the store. OR you could let him raid his Dad's closet and go as his Dad:)
If he still doesn't want a costume, I wouldn't make him dress up!
What does he like? Go with that and have him help you make a costume. We have the most fun every year making our own costumes. Last year we made a Mickey Mouse costume off of things we had laying around the house. The year before we made a Spongebob out of an egg carton topper, spray paint, and an old carboard box. This year it's a cow. Got some great templates for masks off of Chic-Fil-A. And the body was made from an old white pillowcase with felt spots glued on. Have fun with it!
i wonder if he would like to be a vampire? my son thinks they are scary but loves my babysitter is a vampire tv show which is scary. but anything involving stabbing he HATES. i would go with skelleton, frankenstine, or his favorite movie character. my son is going as shark boy from the movie shark boy and lava girl. another friends son is going as a power ranger from a recent movie he saw.
My son loved be a "catwing" for halloween one year. Go to the library and check out the catwings series and read one to your son before Halloween. Try to find the one with Jane the black winged cat. (Her pic is on the front cover). He really enjoyed being something cute and also cool...a black cat with black wings. It's an easy costume to put together if you can find black wings. We painted on a nose and wiskers and he wore the cat ears and all black clothes.
I have to tell you my son is 7 now and he has never once wanted to be something scary. He hates the scary costumes. He was a cute pirate when he was 2. When he was 3 he was a Nemo the fish. One year he was Pikachu (that yellow Pokemon). One year he wanted to be a worm (from the Richard Scarry books). This year he is going as a hamster. He cracks me up :) Why don't you just ask your son what he wants to be? You can always pick up ears and paint his nose for jsut about any animal. You can stop at your local costume store and see what ears they have.
Aw, poor lil guy. This reminded me of when my son was around that age. We dressed him up in a skeleton costume and I think I painted his face too so when he looked in the mirror he started crying. As for your son, maybe just take him into a regular store or a thrift store that sells costumes and when you pass by say "hey look, why don't you be such and such for halloween", ask him if he sees anything he's intersted in. You could also find a church carnival or trunk or treat instead of taking him door to door. Good luck!
My son was always a big chicken (not the costume--about Halloween!)
I made him be a really cute ghost and that seems to have done it--not too creepy, bloody, graphic etc. Just a head-through-the zig-zagged edge sheet, painted hair white, face white and black rings around the eyes. It was O. of the cutest years ever!
