Updated 2022
Teaching young children to identify real or pretend Halloween images is a valuable activity. Halloween is supposed to be such a fun time with children but it can end up as a fearful experience too! Think about all the media images related to it, monsters, witches and all sorts of ghoulish characters! Developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget found that children under the age of seven had difficulty understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. This can make all the zombie decorations, ghost images and vampires all the more scary for children who don’t know the differences between real and pretend. Piaget’s findings have stood the test of time. In 2011, a study in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, by Harris et al, “Monsters, ghosts and witches: testing the limits of the fantasy-reality distinction in young children,” found that when children from the ages of 3-5 were asked to distinguish real characters from fictional ones, such as monsters, these children were only able to do so 40% of the time.
Halloween Real or Pretend? Do more than tell them “it’s not real.”
At halloween, parents and teachers try to help ease fears by telling children, “it’s not real,” but sometimes children need some extra help and guidance from parents, educators and SLPs. I do a real and pretend activity with my preschool students every year before halloween, especially my students with autism. Reinforcing these concepts with parents helps them to not be dismissive about the fears of their children.
Looking for other halloween therapy ideas for language?
Check out this blog post on Halloween youtube videos for language therapy.
How Can We Teach Real or Pretend?
Pretend play opportunities
There are ways we can help children understand and cope with their fears around Halloween in a developmentally appropriate way. Allowing them to engage in pretend play with costumes and props provides opportunities to work through their fears and differentiate things that are real from people dressed in a costume, all in a safe and supported setting.
Sort real and pretend Halloween images
Think about how we teach young children about similarities and differences. We often start with sorting activities. Have students sort non-threatening Halloween images into two groups: “real” and “pretend.” If your children aren’t demonstrating understanding with images, try to find some old beanie babies representing halloween characters to sort, such as witches, pumpkins, spiders and ghosts.
My real or pretend packet for halloween is print and no print! It includes a social story, sorting activity and homework activities. It helps our younger students differentiate what is real around Halloween (spiders, crows, pumpkins) and what is pretend (monsters, vampires, witches). This is an activity that can be co-facilitated by an SLP and classroom teacher or used in therapy by related disciplines.
Incorporate content from favorite videos and shows
Some of my younger students are ADAMANT that their favorite TV or video characters are real to the point where it can interfere with their daily functioning. In these cases, I like to have a short checklist we use as we pretend to be Halloween detectives. We consider:
- Can we see it, hear it or touch it?
- Is it someone dressed in a costume?
- Have you only seen it on a TV or computer screen?
Use Music and Movement!
Here are two of my go-to videos for teaching real and pretend using songs and movement!
Tina shares stories and the viewer decides if they are real or make-believe!
Going on a Bear Hunt with Dr. Jean
Use music and movement to “pretend” to go on a bear hunt. Act it out and sing along with Dr. Jean!
Final thoughts:
If you have a student that you don’t think will handle the trick or treating experience well, encourage parents to:
- Find a safe Halloween event designed for their age,
- Sensory issues? Make the costume simple and comfortable for the child and be prepared to accept that they may decide at the last minute not to wear it.
- Do some preparation at home regarding costumes and what is real and what is not real.
Here’s hoping you and yours have a safe and not toooo scary Halloween!
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