MARIA: SO IT IS ALMOST THE WITCHING HOUR IN MANY LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN WAITING, SOME, NOT VERY PATIENTLY, TO GO TRICK-OR-TREATING. HERE WITH HER ADVICE IS DR. ERICA LEE, A PSYCHOLOGIST AT BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND NICE TO SEE YOU. ED: THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE KIDS RIGHT NOW. WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THE PARENTS CAN INTRODUCE THEM TO HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS WITHOUT IT BECOMING TOO SCARY? IT CAN BE OVERWHELMING. DR. LEE: ABSOLUTELY IT CAN. HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO BOTH OF YOU. IT CAN BE CONFUSING WHY PEOPLE ARE DRESSING UP AND WEARING COSTUMES AT NIGHT. IT CAN BE CONFUSING FOR THE ONES. GIVE THEM A TALK ABOUT WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT AND THEN DECIDE WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR FAMILY. SOME LITTLE ONES MIGHT WANT TO DO LOW-KEY ACTIVITIES. DRESS UP AND READ I HALLOWEEN BOOK. THEY MIGHT NOT GO OUTSIDE, WATCH SCARY MOVIES, AND NO ELABORATE DECORATIONS. IF YOU TAKE THEM TRICK-OR-TREATING, GIVE THEM A SENSE OF WHAT TO EXPECT, PEOPLE DRESSED UP IN DIFFERENT WAYS. IF YOU SEE SOMETHING SCARY, LET THEM KNOW IT’S ALL PRETEND. PART OF THE HOLIDAY. MARIA: WALKING AND WE SAW CHRIS, I WORK WITH CHRIS AND I SAID WHAT OTHER KIDS GOING TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN AND HIS OLDER SON, HE SHOWED ME, THE YOUNGER, FIVE, HE SAID HE WANTED TO BE THIS BUT THEN HE SAW THE SHARK COSTUME FROM LAST YEAR AND SAID HE NEEDED TO BE THE SHARK SO HE SHOWED ME A PICTURE OF IT AND IT IS A LITTLE SMALL, BUT THEY SAID OK, THAT’S FINE. GO AHEAD, BE THE SHARK. THAT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO? DR. LEE: I LOVE THE IDEA OF WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, BE FLEXIBLE. SOMETIMES IT SOUNDS BETTER WITH ONE PLAN THAN ANOTHER. THE WHOLE POINT FOR KIDS PARTICIPATING IS FOR THEM TO HAVE FUN, GET A TON OF CANDY, AND EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH COSTUMES. HELP THEM PROBLEM-SOLVING THEY CHANGE THEIR MIND. HOW CAN WE STILL MAKE IT FUN TO ENJOY THE EVENING TOGETHER? ED: I’M NOT SURE THERE IS A HARD AND STEADFAST RULE, BUT HOW OLD IS TOO OLD? MARIA: ARE YOU ASKING FOR YOURSELF? ED: JUST RESEARCH. JUST DOING RESEARCH. [LAUGHTER] ED: WE COULD WALK OUT BETWEEN SHOWS. YOU KNOW? MARIA: YOU CAN BE YOUNG AT HEART AND ONE CANDY. THAT’S OK, ED. I THINK IT DEPENDS ON YOUR TEENAGER AND WHERE YOU LIVE. I HAVE HEARD THAT THERE ARE TOWNS WITH ORDINANCES OR RULES THAT SAY IF YOU ARE ABOVE A CERTAIN AGE THEY DISCOURAGE TRICK-OR-TREATING. IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THE CHRONOLOGICAL AGE OF THE CHILD SHOULD -- DOES NOT ALWAYS MATCH THE DEVELOPMENTAL AGE. SOME KIDS MAY BE TEENAGERS BUT APPEAR OR ACT YOUNGER AND NOT ALL KIDS HAVE THE SAME INTERESTS AND GOALS FOR HALLOWEEN. TALK WITH YOUR KIDS. DO THEY WANT TO GO OUT, DRESS-UP, HAVE CANDY? MY GENERAL RULE IS THAT AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT BREAKING TONGUE RULES AND BEING APPROPRIATE, YOU KNOW, NOT PUSHING THE LITTLE KIDS OUT OF THE WAY, IT’S OK TO LET THEM ENJOY BEING YOUNG A BIT LONGER.