Halloween too scary for some kids, study finds

  In a recent study of six- and seven-year-olds in the Philadelphia area, Penn State psychologist Cindy Dell Clark found that most parents underestimate just how terrifying Halloween can be for young kids.

  Halloween has been scaring the heck out of kids of all ages for centuries.

  Two thousand years ago, Celts living in what is now the United Kingdom celebrated their new year at the end of October. During these days of transition from the end of summer harvest to the beginning of winter, spirits were thought to roam among the living.

  The modern customs of candy and costume are rooted in medieval England. To avoid being recognized by the visiting spirits, people would dress up in masks whenever they left home. Bowls of food were placed outside to keep the ghosts happy. The practices have morphed into Halloween as it is known today, with parents encouraging their own little ghosts and goblins to haunt the neighborhood.

  There have been few studies to examine how the holiday affects children. Child psychologists generally caution parents that the fright of some aspects of Halloween can be too much for the very young, and advise adults to keep a close eye on children and remind them of what is real and what is not.

  According to Clark, who interviewed parents and children after three Halloweens, younger children may be unwilling participants in the whole ritual.

  The key ingredient in the recipe of Halloween fright is, of course, death.

  

  "Intriguingly, Halloween is a holiday when adults assist children in behaviors taboo and out of bounds," Clark said, "It is striking that on Halloween, death-related themes are intended as entertainment for the very children whom adults routinely protect."

  For most kids, at an age when they're often not included in family funerals or witness to grave illnesses, Oct. 31 is often their first introduction to the subjects.

  Halloween also provides an opportunity for adults to confront usually uncomfortable topics like death. Kids as young as six and seven, however, don't differentiate between real death and the store-bought skeleton figures hanging in the trees and fake tombstones on the grass.

  在最近一次对美国费城地区六七岁年龄组孩子进行的调查中，宾夕法尼亚州心理学家辛迪·戴尔·克拉克发现大多数父母都低估了万圣节可能会对孩子们带来的恐惧。

  几个世纪以来，万圣节吓坏了许多各年龄层的孩子们。

  两千多年前，现在英国的国土上的生活着很多凯尔特人，他们会在每年的10月底庆祝新的一年的到来。这时，夏天的收割已经结束，而寒冷的冬天还没有到来，人们认为幽灵会在这段时间在人群中出没。

  现在盛行的要糖吃和穿奇装异服的传统起源于中世纪的英国，为了避免被降临的幽灵认出，人们出门时都会戴上面具伪装自己。家门口还会放上几碗米饭取悦前来光顾的幽灵。这种习惯渐渐演变为今天大家所熟知的万圣节，现在父母们会鼓励自家小鬼们去邻居家装神弄鬼。

  很少有人研究万圣节到底对孩子会产生怎样的影响。通常，儿童心理学家们会提醒家长万圣节的某些惊悚情景不适合小孩子，他们建议成年人要照看好孩子，提醒他们什么是真的，什么不是。

  克拉克曾经三次在万圣节后采访家长和孩子，年纪较小的孩子们可能不愿意参加这样的活动。

  万圣节恐怖秘诀的主要因素显然是死亡。

  “有意思的是，万圣节的时候大人们会帮助小孩子去做一些平时禁止做的事情。令人惊讶的是，在万圣节，和死亡有关的内容话题成为孩子们的娱乐的内容，而平时大人们都尽量保护孩子们免受这些话题不受伤害。”

  对于大多数孩子来说，在这个年纪他们通常还没有参加过家庭的葬礼或亲眼看到过严重的疾病，他们往往是通过每年10月31日这个节日开始接触这些事情。

  万圣节同时也为大人们提供机会，去面对那些让人不舒服的话题，例如死亡。但是，六七岁的孩子往往无法分辨真实的死亡和那些从商店买来的挂在街上的骷髅以及草地上的假墓碑有什么不同。