Playing pretend is one of the most fun parts of being a kid, and listening to what your own kids create is even more fascinating. Their imaginations really know no bounds, and it is awesome hearing what they come up with. They also like to adapt things that they hear about. A new development in my house is my kids incorporating ghosts into their playtime, and it’s honestly kind of weird. They like to make the “ooooooooh!” sound, or they will pretend to search for ghosts.
I’m not even sure where they first learned about the concept of ghosts. It’s not something that I talk about in daily life, though it is pretty timely given that it’s almost Halloween. Ghosts are popping up in some of their favorite shows to celebrate the holiday. Magic School Bus features the idea of ghosts in multiple episodes.
I am a big fan of Halloween and bringing in some of the traditions I had as a kid.
Watching fun, but not too scary, Halloween movies and creating jack-o'-lanterns are things we do every year. We dress up for some fun, dance to Halloween-inspired music, and make cookies that feature ghosts. We also decorate our windows with clingings for every holiday, so there are ghosts on the windows as well. They have infiltrated my daughter's art and stories.
Suffice to say we aren't exactly "ghost crazy" here. They've truly only come up in the context of Halloween, so their infatuation is a little mind-blowing.
At first, it kind of weirded me out that my kids talk about them so much, but I know they don’t really understand the bigger implications of ghosts. They don’t fully get what being a ghost means or that it is actually tied to death and tragedy. They just see it as a new character that they can bring into playtime that can float and make spooky noises.
The only dangerous thing about it is when they pretend to be ghosts themselves by putting blankets on their heads and then try to walk around. It is adorable but totally unsafe with my little klutzes.
When they ask me if ghosts are real, the best answer I can come up with is that I don’t think so.
I am intrigued by history and stories of the supernatural, but I don't want to scare them with what a ghost is believed to be. My 5-year-old knows that death means someone isn't around anymore, but that's pretty much it.
I don’t think she has connected the two ideas at all yet. I’m not in any hurry to do it for her either. She will learn of the connection soon enough, but in the meantime, she can continue to follow the concept of ghosts wherever her imagination takes her. They can factor into her stories however she sees fit.
So for Halloween or any time, I'll play along with the ghost stories they tell and hope that they always use their imaginations to think of crazy things.
Being a storyteller myself, the tales they create are a lot of fun to listen to and appreciate. The creativity that they have is inspiring, and I hope that they never lose it.
