Is your child afraid of characters- i.e. Halloween costumes, sport mascots, Clowns?

[Anonymous]

My 5 1/2 year old HATES characters. Costumes seem to be ok, but characters like at Disney (except the princesses) are not ok with him. He will even point out characters he knows and likes (there goes Cat in the Hat!) but won't get close to them and DEFINITELY won't pose for a picture.

Just FYI, it doesn't ruin the amusement park experience for him. He goes to Hershey Park and sees a giant chocolate bar waving at him, and he'll just give it a wide berth.