Avast, me Matey! So, you think your 14 month old is a little pirate, eh?  What better thing to dress them up as this Halloween!

Pirate costumes are very popular right now, thanks to the popularity of the swashbuckling "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and the lead character, Captain Jack Sparrow.  This means there are many, many choices for you, and it is easy to find a toddler pirate costume!

Your toddler may not be old enough for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, but they might have seen the Muppets "Treasure Island", or "Dora's Pirate Adventure".  Every child loves to be a pirate!

There are the Captain Hook/Peter Pan inspired costumes, and then there are the more swashbuckling styles featured in the more recent movies.   There are really adorable pirate costumes for girls available with skirts.  There's something about a pirate in a skirt which is just irresistable.

Some of the costumes are available in infant sizes, as well.

You do want to make sure the costume does not need to be dry-cleaned.  You don't want to be upset if your little buccaneer gets messy at the Halloween party.

Fortunately, toddler pirate costumes are very affordable, and don't have any complicated parts like wings or tails to deal with.  Many of them consist of shirt, pants, vest and belt, and maybe a hat or scarf for the head.  Some will include "boot tops" to wear on the legs so it will look like the child is wearing those soft leather boots we always associate with pirates. Stripes and "skull and crossbones" are popular themes for a todder pirate costume.

A little makeup can finish up the look - dark eyeliner can make a scar, or you can use mascara to stipple on some 5 o'clock shadow.

There are also various accessories available, such as swords, eye patches, skull and crossbones tights, hooks, earrings, pistols, and of course, parrots!  Of course you want to be sure that the accessory is something that your toddler will be comfortable with - a 16 month old may not remember to hold on to their sword!

If you have multiple children, it could be fun to dress them up as different characters from the same story: you could have Captain Hook, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, or Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, and Elizabeth Swann.

No matter what you pick, you'll have the cutest little buccaneer in town this Halloween!

Pirate History is very interesting, and includes many colorful characters. The Jolly Roger was their symbol, and their ships often flew flags with this symbol on it. A famous book for young readers about pirates is "Kidnapped", by Robert Louis Stevenson.