The era of skilled mothers' hand crafting their kids Halloween costumes is slipping away.
Project Runway may change the down trend of capable seamstresses, but presently fewer people today are trained in the usage and operation of a sewing machine than just a decade ago.
Some parents and grandparents are equipped to pull out their rice paper Simplicity patterns showing designs of lion costumes and scarecrows while other loving parents acquire their child's requested ladybug outfit from online suppliers or retailers.
Whatever source the make-believe attire comes from, children still love the joyful creativity and imagination used when dressing up and donning another character and personality for a day.
The chance to dress as a policeman with a genuine badge for an afternoon or as a fairy princess with sparkly sequins, glitter makeup, and a magic wand for an evening, are healthy childhood experiences.
In fact, psychologists believe that playing dress-up is an important part of overall childhood development and can be helpful for children to develop a greater sense of empathy.
Pretending to be a courageous firefighter or valiant military hero are beneficial ways for children to express different personalities in a safe environment.
Wearing costumes any time of the year is more than simply putting on an outfit; it is a chance for the child to pretend they are an astronaut on a mission, a highly trained surgeon facing an emergency, a nurse administering critical medical help, or a secret agent on a presidential task force.
Dressing up can even present an opportunity for your child to somewhat test what it feels like to walk in the shoes of their current idol.
Although simply wearing an outfit is not the same as "Take Your Child to Work Day" where a youth truly experience the life of an individual with the job of some of the previous mentioned champions (policeman, firefighter, nurse, etc.
).
It is, however, still an opportunity for the youth to live that day in their imagination.
Expressing themselves and allowing for a young imagination to grow is an essential part of development.
In the scenario of Take Your Child to Work Day, a youth truly going to work with a parent mostly experiences the normality of a day.
For example, a lawyer may prepare for several months or years before a case comes to trial so the child of a lawyer accompanying their mom or dad to work would probably experience the day of research and the true hard work it takes to build up to the day of excitement and success.
A child putting on a children's costume, however, would probably bring all the exciting action with pretend and imagination into a single afternoon.
The power of an individual's imagination affords the opportunity to take the creator beyond what reality has to offer.
The creative skills the child weaves into their pretend play while wearing their kids Halloween costume encourages them to script their activity including dialogue as well as action.
The level of action and dialogue a young person chooses to include in their play time can help mold their creativity throughout life.
If a child chooses to use dialogue when pretending then it begs the question of what happens next.
For example, if a young boy or girl is pretending to be a police officer and is in route to catch the bad guy, he or she may say, "freeze, with your hands up.
" Then the youngster must decide what to do next, shoot, arrest, set free, etcetera.
The dialogue can go on and on and, depending on how interesting it unfolds, may determine if a parent is raising the next Steven Spielberg in their home.