Halloween, also known as All Hallows Eve in some countries, occurs on October 31st every year. This holiday is particularly celebrated by carving pumpkins, decorating, attending haunting attractions, telling scary stories, watching horror films, dressing up in costumes, and, the ever so famous: trick or treating.
While scrolling across Facebook, I saw an image that was posted on several timelines that brought up some issues people might have while children are trick or treating. While there are those of us who understand and do not see these things as an issue, some people seem bothered when coming across children or people like the ones listed down below. This is a reminder to be accepting.
Do not scold a child for grabbing more than one piece of candy; they may have poor fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are small movements — such as picking up small objects and holding a spoon — that use the small muscles of the fingers, toes, wrists, lips, and tongue. Therefore, the child may not be able to only grab one piece because it is hard for them to grasp such small items.
The child that takes forever to pick out one piece of candy may have motor planning issues. Motor planning is the ability to conceive, plan, and carry out a skilled, non-habitual motor act in the correct sequence from beginning to end. Incoming sensory stimuli must be correctly integrated in order to form the basis for appropriate, coordinated motor responses.Therefore, the child may struggle while trying to make a decision because it is hard for them.
Don’t make the child say, “Trick-or-Treat,” before giving them candy. This child may be non-verbal. If a child is non-verbal they may not be able to speak at all. They may be deaf and do not know how to voice words. They may also be a child whom is deathly afraid of speaking.
Don’t assume the child is a prick when they look sad or upset when they look into your bowl. This child may have an allergy to the certain candy that you have put in your bucket for them to choose from. Keep some fruit or some things that are gluten, peanut, or dairy free on the side so that the child has more options. You will be the person who they talk about all night because you offered them things they could actually have.
Just because a child does not have on a costume, do not assume that they think they are better than everyone else. There are several reasons this child might not have a costume. This child may come from a poor family, therefore they cannot afford to buy a costume. The child still has the courage to walk out on Halloween with no candy; give them some candy! A child might also have autism and when they do, sometimes the costumes confuse them and can risk the chance of scaring them because they do not understand what is going on and their brains cannot process it. This can cause some internal issues.
If you see an adult or an older child, do not assume they are coming out just to take candy away from the smaller children. These people who are trick-or-treating may seem “grown” to you, but in their mind, they may not surpass the age of two. This is a person who may have some sort of disabilities that trigger their brains to stay at a certain age and this is something they cannot help.
All in all, Halloween is for everyone. So what if a kid looks a little older than the rest, doesn’t have a costume, takes longer to grab candy than the others or grabs more than one piece. It is Halloween. It is a time when everyone deserves candy and everyone should be able to enjoy this holiday. Choose your words wisely. Be nice. Be patient. This is everyone’s Halloween.
