My most fearless son isn’t a big fan of clowns. It all stems from one Halloween night when he was in elementary school. In the neighborhood we were walking by a house with a suspicious looking decoration in a tree. He claimed there was someone dressed in a clown outfit hiding, waiting there. While I still feel it was clever Halloween decor, to this day, he swears — and so does my other son — it was a person. He hasn’t liked clowns since.
However, it didn’t stop my son from trick-or-treating the next year and many other Halloween nights in that neighborhood. Isn’t that what this holiday is really about?
While Halloween obviously has spooky aspects, for kids, especially younger ones, the focus is playing pretend with costumes of their choosing, showing them off and going out in the dark where they get a bag full of candy.
Halloween also brings friends, family and small communities together. While you might not talk to every neighbor, just a quick wave and saying thank you from the sidewalk is enough.
As we know, there are plenty of scary things happening that aren’t part of the Halloween holiday, why not see some joys in this one spectacular night.
That’s why we focused on the not-so-scary celebrations of this issue for your littlest pumpkin. For kids with allergies, we help you take the tricks out of the treats. And, your tweens and teens will also find a few Halloween haunts.
I would be remiss to not mention if you are in the first months with your middle school student, it can give you extra chills that you weren’t expecting. We help you navigate this rise to the next level with our Middle School Guide. (If you missed our Preschool and Elementary School Guides, visit NortheastOhioParent.com to visit these digital editions. Check out our High School Guide in November for your teens).
I don’t know about you, but for my own social media use, I sometimes feel anxious and depressed when viewing my feeds. So when thinking about how my teens’ feel about theirs, it makes me worry. Healthy social media habits are important for everyone. We provide ways teens, and also parents, can clean up their social and practice positive use.
Finally, with the fall season, there is so much to do for everyone. We printed as many happenings as possible in this issue. However, don’t stop at print. Our online calendar, fall fun list and e-newsletters offer more ways your family can find seasonal fun activities. Visit NortheastOhioParent.com and check out our social media @NEOhioParent.
We also put a list of what’s streaming in October, so if you plan to stay at home, you know what to watch. For our family, we won’t be viewing any clown movies (or anything about house centipedes, that’s not my favorite). Instead, we will be celebrating the season with some costume-clad activities. Maybe even make a pumpkin mac-n-cheese (see pg. 9 for recipe) if we dare.