Dr. Lewis First (Provided photo)

With Halloween approaching, parents have been scaring me with questions about their younger children’s fears of ghosts, monsters, and simply going out in the dark at night to trick-or-treat.

Well let me try to have the courage to answer some of those questions and provide some fearless advice on the problem.

Younger children develop fears largely because they have an active imagination, growing independence, and yet can have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality.

Telling your young child that they should not be afraid of something only adds to their fear that they cannot talk about it with you.

Forcing a child to confront a fear cold turkey is also unproductive as is totally protecting your child.

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So, what do I recommend?

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Ask your child to talk about what they are afraid of and why they are afraid and that may help you to better understand their fear.

The best plans are those that empower your child by helping them find a way to transform or banish the object of the fear. For example, giving your young child a spray bottle filled with water and calling it “monster spray” that your child can use to banish monsters will often do the trick.

Having your child draw a picture of a friendly monster for your front door to ward off scary monsters will also do the trick.

If your child is afraid of all the scary costumes and decorations that go with Halloween, you might read books about Halloween and trick-or-treating and even have your child practice dressing up in costume before the big day so they know that Halloween is just for fun and the scary stuff is all pretend.

Trick-or-treating before dark is another option or engage in community activities for Halloween that occur during the day and not after dark.

For older children, monitor your child’s media use so that exposure to frightening images in movies, online videos, and violent video games is minimized, or watch the scary movie that they want to watch with them so you can explain special effects that might otherwise be frightening while you watch it together.

If your child overcomes their fear of monsters, ghosts, or other scary things, praise them, and if not, do not add to the stress by criticizing them or denying the fear exists.

Parents, you need to be good role models. Just because your child fears something does not mean you should as well and if you do, you should try to confront and deal with this fear, or your child will fear similarly.

Hopefully, tips like these will not make you afraid of helping your child deal with their fears.

Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.