It’s the time of year when we start seeing pictures of kids dressed up for Halloween. The happiness on the faces of these youngsters is contagious. This is a time to celebrate their imaginations and enjoy the upcoming festivities.

But what happens when that happy costume reveals something deeper?

I recently saw a picture of an adorable little girl dressed as a vampire. In the photo, she was standing next to her much taller father who was also wearing a vampire costume. My immediate reaction was one of joy and celebration for this father-daughter pair.

But then I thought about this picture from a different perspective: How does a dad feel about his daughter growing up? What does it mean for him? Is he sad that she will soon be leaving home? Is he afraid that other men will be interested in her? Is he confused about how to handle her dating relationships? Or maybe he just feels awkward about talking with her about certain subjects now that she is older.

All of these thoughts led me to five ways that fathers can reconnect with their daughters as they grow up:

Dear Daughter,

I have been going through a number of old photographs and have come across some photos of you when you were young. I remember taking these photos and the times we shared together.

The first photo was taken when you were playing in the garden with your younger brother, Rory. You were dressed up in a vampire costume, which your mother had bought for you at a fancy dress party. It was an autumn evening, so the leaves had started to fall from the trees and scatter onto the lawn. I remember how much fun you were having chasing after your brother in the garden. It must have been quite scary for him, having his big sister dressed up as a vampire! We used to spend every Sunday afternoon having family time together. Your father was working long hours at that time in his job and I remember this particular Sunday being one of our favourite afternoons spent together as a family. It is so important to make time for our children because they don’t stay young for long and before we know it they are all grown up and have their own lives to lead.

A few years ago we gave our daughter a vampire costume for Halloween. This was a costume she picked out herself. It came with a tight-fitting black shirt, black pants and a white cape. The only thing it didn’t come with were the fangs, which we bought at the dollar store.

We had fully expected that she would wear this costume on Halloween night and then again maybe once or twice more, at least around the house. But she did something that surprised us. She wore her vampire outfit every day for over a month! She wore it to school, to the store and even to bed!

Now you might be wondering what does this have to do with father-daughter relationships? Well let me explain. As I mentioned before, our daughter chose this outfit all by herself; it was something important to her. And even though it cost us very little money, it was worth a lot because of how much she enjoyed wearing it. It made her happy and that made us happy.

But what happened next is something we never could have predicted: Our daughter’s happiness started to rub off on us! Because of how much joy this Halloween outfit was bringing our daughter, we started enjoying watching her wear it as well. Her joy became our joy!

When I was a kid, my father had a minor obsession with vampires. He’d watch every vampire movie he could find, try to talk me into watching them with him, and we even had an elaborate set of rules for fighting off vampires (I can still remember the garlic/silver bullet/running water order). In preparation for Halloween, he decided to make me a vampire costume.

Since it was the 80s, we used iron-on transfers, black fabric spray paint, and plenty of pins to get the job done. The end result wasn’t pretty, but I was so proud of my costume that I insisted on wearing it all day (even at school), and looked forward to trick-or-treating later that night.

Unfortunately, as I was getting ready to go out, my dad decided that he wanted to change the costume. He spent the better part of an hour removing the cape, changing into a Vampira shirt he bought at Kmart, and fixing up his hair in order to look like a vampire himself.

As a father of three daughters, I want to protect them from harm. And one of the best ways to do that is to raise their awareness about the real world.

When our daughters were younger, we made sure they understood about Halloween dangers and about not accepting candy from strangers. But as they got older and more independent, we realized it was time to talk with them about the dangers of alcohol.

In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Halloween is among the deadliest nights for pedestrians, particularly children ages 4 to 8.

While NHTSA data show that pedestrian fatalities peak during the summer months, deaths are still higher than usual on Halloween night because many more kids are out walking after dark.

And alcohol plays a role in many of these deaths. According to NHTSA data, nearly half of drunk-driving fatalities on Halloween night involve at least one driver or pedestrian with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.15 percent or higher — almost twice the legal limit. And one-third of these fatalities involve drivers under 21 years old.

That’s why this year I want my daughters — now 18 and 16 — to know that if they are out celebrating Halloween on their own or with friends and decide to

This Halloween, dress up your daughter as a vampire. Her friends will be dressed in cute costumes, but she will be the sexiest one there!

“I’ve never seen so many sexy vampire costumes for little girls,” I said to my husband last night.

“Let’s get Kim one of those!” he exclaimed. “She’ll look like a princess!”

I was shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth. My first thought was, “What has happened to our culture that we now think it’s okay to sexualize our children?”

As a mom and a therapist who specializes in working with girls and women, I’ve been thinking a lot about the messages girls get about their bodies — especially their breasts — and how this impacts their sense of self-worth.

Vampire Costumes

If you are looking for a Halloween costume idea, this is the place to start. Whether you want to dress up as a vampire, witch, zombie or pirate we have something for everyone. We have dozens of resources for costumes, accessories and even recipes.

We also have a lot of popular costumes for kids and adults alike. You will find vampires, witches, mummies and many more popular costumes.

For those who have been planning their Halloween costume for weeks, don’t worry. You will find lots of inspiration here as well. And if you are planning to make your own costume, we can help with that too.

We have tons of tips and advice on how to make the perfect costume. Not only that but we’ve got tons of accessories to go along with it too! So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!