[Eyes_in_the_dark]

My six-year-old doesn’t share my love of haunting and some of the things I plan on doing this year may scare her a bit. I’ve tried to set things up so there is nothing “scary” in the yard where she plays and most of the props can be turned on after she comes in the house for the night. Any suggestions on how I should/can handle this so I don’t scare her in her own home but, I still can do my haunt the way I want?

 

[krypt]

sit her down tell her they are fake...let her help you build them so she knows they are not real .....and say i need to put these things out to keep the real goblins at bay .....example:heck my dad used to say ...on long trips if your real quiet youll seee big foot man i thought he was telling the truth years later i know he just wanted us quiet ...for hours me and bro would be whispering i think i saw him lol

 

[kevin242]

they are not real .....and say i need to put these things out to keep the real goblins at bay...

That's good advice. My 2 y/o son has been getting a bit "antsy" around some of my props (usually skeletons) so I like to pick him up and give a few raps on the prop's head to show him that it's fake. Now I just have to keep him from smacking every prop as hard as he can! Hopefully someday, he'll appreciate how fun all of this really is...

 

[Sickie Ickie]

This is my firs year hauting, and I already had a similar problem with my 1-1/2 year old son with some props. The biggest challenges was a latex skeleton torso and a talking skull.

I very slowly showed him that they were fake by picking them up and puppeteering them so they were funny. Then they would "dance" because my son likes dancing. My son then started to cautiously touch them.

LOL Now he just picks them up as if they were nuthin'! Maybe he has a future as a coroner or mortitian?

 

[Eyes_in_the_dark]

Thanks for the suggestion all, I will try each one and see what happens.

 

[Bone Dancer]

Good job you guys. Thats the main thing I like about this place is everybody is ready an willing to help. And good luck to you Eitd.

 

[IshWitch]

Good suggestions all!

I agree, make them fun/funny and offer to let the child build one or help you with building one. They love it when something they do or help with is "theirs" so let them own some if they help with them.

 

[darryl]

I have a 3 and 6 year old. I don't know, I just make it a part of their life. I bring the bucky upstairs or leave it in the open in the garage. I work on things infront of them and of course let them see that it's not real and they seem to be fine. For my 6 year old daughter it was the need to name the props and she seemed okay.
Of course last night I was looking at vids of Scary terry products, the Fox Productions website and other talking skull stuff and my 3 yr old son found them fascinating and watched too. So I asked him if we should make one and he said yes. But when he went to bed shortly after he had to have me lay with him with the light on!! I knew I was pushing it.

 

[Haunted Neurons]

Letting her get involved with setting up and or building stuff of her own would help. Maybe even drawing scary Holloween faces on paper.

A neighbor who has a young one and several older ones had a sit down tea party with a prop and his young daughter. He moved the prop (a big plastic skeleton) around and acted goofy and made the skeleton sip tea. I didnt see this first hand but I whish I had been there with a camcorder. It must have been a hoot. I dont think it was real effective though because when she saw a more morbid looking corpse it still scared her.

Im sure some kids take it different than others.

Good luck

 

[Dr Morbius]

Just wait till they get older...Then you'll be afraid of THEM!

 

[Eyes_in_the_dark]

Just wait till they get older...Then you'll be afraid of THEM!

ROFL, I know what you mean I also have a 16 year old! Thanks everyone I will work with her over the summer using some of your ideas and see what happens.

 

[faerydreams]

I thought I would have the same problem with my kids. So last year I had a "cute" side of the yard for them (decorations of their choice), and a "scary"(decorations of my choice) side of the yard. However, they ended up liking the scary side of the yard better.

 

[slightlymad]

When the kids were younger (oh so long ago) we took everything out early and left them around in longer doses untill it seemed normal and a resistance was built up. The only one that took along time was our youngest but now she helps with evrything and actually lets me know when something is to corny.

 

[Big Howlin]

All I can say is, sooo glad were having a boy! (I want a girl too) BUT! For now, soo happy... Ijust hope he loves halloween like his old man

 

[slimy]

I don't have kids, but this is what I did with the nieghbors: I used a rubber rat. From a distance it's pretty scary but when you let the kids touch it and feel that its rubber 'fur' doesn't feel like anything real. Then push the squeeker. Absolutely nothing scary about the squeeker. Let the kids squeek it. It's not real, it's make believe. That's what this yard is, a big ol rubber rat. It's not real it's make believe. I let them keep the rat. They named it 'squeeky'. They came over that year to get candy and brought squeeky with them.

 

[Big Howlin]

awww....kids r so cute.