Pumpkin Spice Latte’s, pumpkin muffins, and candy corn can only mean 1 thing…Fall is here and Halloween is just around the corner!

As Halloween approaches and the costumes come out in the stores, kids begin to wonder and begin thinking “What do I want to be?” Whether you agree with Halloween or not, playing dress up for a child is not only exciting and fun but is also a key developmental avenue of play.

The idea of Halloween in our culture today, is to dress up and pretend to be someone you’re not. I don’t know about you, but this is something that happens everyday around us just minus the costumes. We see people everyday trying to be someone or something else and sometimes that person is us. Have you ever thought how silly it would be to walk around in your Halloween costume in April? For kids, it’s a little different. When we see a little batman in the grocery cart in summer, we think it’s so cute! We also know that for their mom or dad it was probably a battle not worth fighting that morning. But to see an adult walk in wearing a costume, using fake props or even having a fake accent would be a totally different story. Yet, we do this all time…we just hide it on the inside.

What we all need and long for is authenticity and being known by someone. Our fears say this…” if someone knew the real me, they wouldn’t like me”. So we begin becoming someone were are not.

So this Halloween have a ton of fun with your kids, neighborhood kids, and/or friends, but remind them that even as “cool” as batman seems, that child/adult is much more valuable and has so much more to offer. However this process begins with you. When we are real with other people, the attitude becomes contagious…especially to our children.
“Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be.”
– David Bly