Boo! Tonight is the night. Ghosts, goblins and witches will travel the streets of Ames in search of treats.

Halloween has traditionally been the “scary” holiday, and most children can hardly wait until they dress up in costumes to be transformed into someone or something out of the ordinary. Many children choose to dress up in scary costumes in order to scare their friends. However, not everyone thinks this is such a great idea.

Paula McMurray-Schwarz, assistant professor of child development at ISU, feels Halloween can be a confusing time for youngsters because they do not always understand the concept of the holiday.

For toddlers who are trying to develop a sense of trust, costumes can be very confusing; it is not just the typical scary costume that frightens them, but, for example, clowns also scare them.

They are able to recognize the voice behind the costume, but the visual identity is not there, she said.

Teresa VandeLune, freshman in agricultural education, agrees.

“I think it is true what McMurray-Schwarz says about the whole costume idea. If they dress up as princesses and fairies it is not as traumatic as if they were to dress up as witches and devils,” she said.

Children start to comprehend the concept of Halloween around the age of four, but McMurray-Schwarz is quick to add it can be later for some children depending on their maturity level.

The parents and family members, she said, should know what their children are capable of handling. She added that parents should give the kids the opportunity to dress each other up and even put their makeup on despite the outcome.

Mandy Branson, freshman in elementary education, said people are often too quick to underestimate how intelligent children can be. Children in costumes, she said, enjoy pretending, and they enjoy it more when adults participate in the fun at Halloween.

“I disagree with her because I think most young children know the difference between fantasy and reality. I was taught at a really young age to distinguish the difference,” she said.

Branson said she thinks children would know when they see a ghost that it is just a costume.

She said pretending to be witches and vampires with costumes is no worse than playing cops and robbers without costumes.

“Parents need to do a lot of preparation; teach the children what exactly to expect, let them pick out their costumes, and encourage them no matter what they want to be,” she said.

Some children compete with each other to see who will have the scariest costume. McMurray-Schwarz said competition should be downplayed because of the sensitivity to cultural and religious beliefs and some people may not be able to afford the elaborate costumes.

She likes that some schools are changing their policies on Halloween parties. Instead of dressing up as ghosts and goblins, the children have to be a character out of a storybook or a photograph (such as Michael Jordan). She said it gives the kids a sense of reality.