We have commented on occasion the convenience of children practicing "role play" to facilitate their emotional maturation. The role play is a playful formula in which we try to put ourselves in the perspective of a character to experience its characteristics.
Children have a special facility for this, often influenced by the culture that surrounds them. For example, a child who grows up in a rural environment, at some point may have the interest of being a tractor driver, because he is a significant figure for him and that allows him to access, in a symbolic way, a series of inaccessible activities in reality. In these cases, Dressing up is a way of playing to be someone else.
My suggestion, after this presentation, is to try to choose or orient the children towards those costumes that are really meaningful to them. Sometimes, parents try to make the costume a uniform with which the child is especially handsome before the eyes of others. This goal, which I think is very frequent even if we are not fully aware of it, does not completely satisfy the child, but us.
On other occasions, it seems to us that the theme chosen by our son is not the most appropriate for his development. For example, one of the most requested costumes among children (boys) is that of a pirate. It has a series of distinctive elements (patch, handkerchief, sword ...) that make it recognizable and also dominates an "attractive" theme for children such as violence. I agree not to encourage violence in boys or girls, but I see no evil in wielding a sword and "fighting." Perhaps it is a harmless way to play with something that is very controlled in our society, aggressiveness, and (like everything related to children) with some supervision on our part can facilitate its development.
We have been living during these days the end of the year parties, in which costumes and makeup are usually very present, and I have found it convenient to share these reflections with you. It would be interesting to know your opinion.
