It can be frustrating how much of the Halloween season you spend helping scared kids. Depending on their age, anything from a jump scare to a spooky laugh to their first time watching Harry Potter can scare them. As a kid who got spooked pretty easily, here are three tips from me on how to help your kids if they’ve gotten a little scared.

1. Help your kids replace scary thoughts with happy ones.

If your kids are fixating on a scary idea, you can help them by telling a funny story or a fairy tale or by brainstorming some fun fall activities with them. A lot of the time, just replacing the bad idea with some good ones will help kids to calm down.

2. Help your kids talk through the problem.

Most of the time, the things that scared me as a kid were things that made me feel like I didn’t have control over what might happen to me or that I couldn’t protect myself at home. Talking your kids through the source of their fears can help you recognize how to best treat them. Maybe you can help them just by showing them the things you do to keep the house safe or helping them gain confidence in their self-defense abilities.

3. Help your kids create a plan for what to do when they’re scared.

Honestly, you probably already have an unspoken rule for what your kids can do when they’re scared. It could be they’re allowed to sleep with mom and dad. Maybe you do a full room search with a flashlight to scare away monsters. Maybe you break out a special warrior teddy. In any case, just having a plan can help to soothe a child’s night-fright anxiety.

Hopefully these tips for helping scared kids are helpful! Bonus tip: coming to Coconut Cove is a great way to get the wiggles out. Coconut Cove is Utah’s best indoor playground, family amusement center for families with children under age 12. The playground has dozens of “play events” for young children. These events include trampolines, ball cannons, a ball fountain, and a variety of slides. Because here at Coconut Cove, we believe in getting kids off of screens and actively playing. In addition, Coconut Cove prides itself on being safe, clean, sanitary, and affordable! Also, it has plenty of seating for adults and fun entertainment for children. It is a great place for kids birthday parties, mommy play dates, or for families to just come and have fun! If you are looking for fun activities for kids in Utah, come to Coconut Cove!