Halloween

Halloween! It is fun as an adult. But as a parent I feel a bit apprehensive. Yes, I know it’s all in jest and there is no unknown out there. (No I don’t vouch for that!) I love the concept and I dressed up as a witch too. 😀 My husband went to office as a vampire. But the parent me wasn’t too happy.

Why do I need to instill the fear of unknown in the little mind? Vampires, voodoo and venom are what popcorn sitcom and cheesy teen novels should be made of. Mind you, I have followed both and loved them.

But as usual when it comes to my 3 year old, I am as hypocritical as ever  I don’t want her to know about ghosts or what might be lurking in the dark alley or waiting for the full moon to arise! It isn’t just my thought. This article here actually triggered my thoughts:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9841443/#.UmMTFPmnpws

Well, I don’t have a choice in this matter. So, she is now referring to certain things as monsters (or mowwwsters as she says) and she tells me there is after all no reason to be scared.

She loves Halloween too. It’s the first time she is being exposed to this. Even though it isn’t a really famous festival in our city, the pre-school had a little dress-up event for the kids. So all sorts of cute pumpkins, witches ,ghouls and some angels came out into the open. A lot of candy was consumed and bought home too. The local dentists might be happy about this.

I was 10 when I watched my first horror movie. It was ‘The Exorcist’. My brother and his friends had rented the classic. He is 7 years elder to me. I think it was okay for him to see. Oh boy! But I was petrified but glued to the movie. It was another matter than I couldn’t sleep without my mum for the next 2 months or so. What was the impact of the movie? Did it scar my childhood? I have no idea but then on I loved watching horror and anything supernatural.

So, why do I really worry about the 3 year old knowing about monsters?  Her imagination about monsters might be really cute because it is limited to the cute kids in the pre-school dressed up as the feared ones. But she knows there is something to be feared about. If she fantasizes princesses and pirates, she now even fears the witches. Well if you know the yin, you should know the yang!

I have absolutely no conclusion to the entire tirade I wrote now. I guess it’s the maternal instinct that kicks in each time anything remotely bad is introduced to the child. I know I cannot shield her and she should be aware of everything. All I can do is worry, and I think I do that well.

An erstwhile Quality Analyst, Sirisha Achanta, is now a full-time mommy to an adorable 2-year-old girl and a part-time writer. 🙂  She loves to dance, dream and read a lot!