The amazing things about Halloween – costumes, candy, and staying up past bedtime – can also lead to behavior disasters!

Here are my top strategies for you to avoid behavior mishaps:

Start out the day by speaking with purpose. When the day begins tell your small being what the plan is. The more they know what they will be doing and what is expected of them, the more likely they will come through for you. As much as Halloween is a magical day, your small ones haven’t become clairvoyant.
Sometimes the plan is not certain. This is totally fine! Be clear about what you’re doing and what you’ll learn about later. You might tell your small being something like, “After school we are going to go home and get ready to trick or treat. At some point we are going to meet up with the neighbors to roam the neighborhood together.”
Speak in positive terms. For example, your dream is that your small ones do not fight over candy. Instead of saying this directly you can turn it into, “Today it would be amazing if you peacefully received and traded candy, okay?”
Lay out expectations for candy! You don’t wait until it is time to eat dessert to debate and fight about it. (Click to Tweet) You can say, “After trick or treating we are going to have dinner. You can each have three pieces of Halloween candy for dessert. Then we will find our way to bedtime routines with brushing teeth and pajamas.” You can have different rules about candy, but make sure that you emphasize them early in the day.
Happy Halloweens are all about begin clear! Follow these suggestions and you will have a super fun day, sugar crashes and all!

Insight Into Action!

Parents: What is one expectation that you want to make super clear this Halloween?

Teachers: How do you want to set up expectations for your classroom this Halloween?

Feedback? Thoughts? Comments? Email me at: Info@BehaviorAndBeyond.net

With a little help we can all grow. If a special person in your life can use this information,then please forward this blog.

For more helpful behavior information delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday, sign up below.