To think Halloween costumes for small children are..

[meekenough]

becoming far too grotesque?

I have a four year old and costume shopping is becoming limited increasingly as IMO the costume faces are either too frightening/disturbing/gory for children that age, and that alot of the decorations are going the same way,
I am by no means a prude I like my horror films, but horror film imagery is for adults not kids, I love halloween but when I was a child it was a bin liner cape, witches hat and then watched hocus pocus...., things seem to have changed a lot ...

Or maybe I', gerrin' old and joyless.....

AIBU..

[2tiredtoScare]

Maybe this will counteract it a bit..www.costumecraze.com/BABY348.html

[2tiredtoScare]

www.costumecraze.com/BABY348.html

[2tiredtoScare]

YANBU though, I went to a party shop and some of the outfits for young children had gone way too far

[Tallaween]

We've cobbled together an outfit this year. She's being the Wicked Witch of the East (black scraggly tutu, black polo neck, black & white stripy tights, red sparkly shoes, broom, witches hat, lots of green face paint - I am trtung to decide if I have the wherewithall to make a little house to glue to the hat).

We did look at the costumes in store but they were either too flouncy or too ugly - not that she is difficult to please!

[MTBMummy]

Dunno - we found some nice ones at Tesco for DD, not offensive or scary at all

[BrandiBroke]

I thought exactly this last year when my Facebook feed was full of pictures of little children dressed as really gruesome looking zombies. When I was little I didn't know what a zombie was! YANBU.

[WooWooOwl]

I've never seen any grotesque outfits for small children. Just capes with smiley bats, normal witches dresses and pumpkins that come with stripy tights.

Where do you shop?

[2tiredtoScare]

I saw them in a party shop

[phantomnamechanger]

YANBU!

witches, ghosts, pumpkins or black cats are fine but anything with blood and gore, IMO, is not appropriate. Just bleurgh.

Then again, I hate Halloween with a passion and we have NEVER done it, at all.

[2tiredtoScare]

It's boo humbug actually

[FunnyRunner]

They have lovely ones in TK Maxx if you have one near you?

[absentmindeddooooodles]

There are a few that l9ok a bit much. I took ds 2.6 to tescos and asda to try and find one. There were a few scary looking scream type ones.

We came back with a pink tutu, cats ears, vampire teeth and pumpkin face paint. .....fair enough ds.

[2tiredtoScare]

At the party shop I saw zombies, scream outfits and bloodied nurse outfits for 4-6 year olds

[meekenough]

yes zombies, bloody stuff, my DP got my DS a v. scary devil mask last year didnt like it at all.

[Fakebook]

Mothercare and M&S always do nice ones. Dd has a witches dress from Mothercare that she's been wearing since 2009. It just stretches to fit her every year.

I have a problem with book character costumes though. Last March I tried to find dd a nice costume for world book day and when I googled little red riding hood or goldilocks all these disgusting big breasted women with hardly any clothes on would come up. I find it unsettling when a child's book character is sexed up like that for adults.

[meekenough]

yep totally 2tiredtoScare, lol that outfit is cute.

[MrsCakesPremonition]

DS is 5yo and had insisted on being a zombie this year. I brought his costume home today and he has adapted so that it now includes nothing but pants, socks and a scary mask. He is having a whale of a time surprising me from behind my laptop.

I think it depends on the child TBH.

[RedHelenB]

Ds was a pumpkin for 3 years ( think it was from Asda) Now he's almost 7 he's chosen a vampire outfit. Pumpkin really cute with hat, vampire not gritesque so YABU!!

[2tiredtoScare]

I dont think the mainstream shops seem to sell things like the outfits in stand alone shops

[HotDogSlaughter]

Yes some stuff is quite yukky, the zombie nurse is a bit wrong but it's up to us to guide them isn't it?

[2tiredtoScare]

Yes well I had to guide myself away from the baby Frankenstein outfit as it was 24 quid

[Tillyscoutsmum]

My DS (nearly 4) chose a really freaky clown costume this year There's no blood or gore but it scares the ever living shit out of me (I obviously read too much Stephen King as a teen)

[MyBaby1day]

YANBU, I have noticed this too, need to tone it down a bit and make it a bit more cute!.

[Birdsgottafly]

Surely you would expect " more extreme" costumes, in a costume shop, as otherwise at the prices they charge ( or cannot compete with) everyone would stick to Tesco/Asda and the discount shops?

I haven't seen any that could be deemed as unsuitable in any of the Supermarkets.

The little girl dresses with Black Cats etc on makes we wish we had a toddler in the family.

[meekenough]

Yes, Tilly I saw that clown one too bloody scary looks the double of IT.

www.amazon.com/Scary-Ghoul-Costume-Small-Size-Years/dp/B000UO1GW2?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

this ^^ is specifically 3/4 years.

HotDog- in the nicest way, its not really the point although I see your point. Putting parents in that situation isn't v. responsible of the shops/manufacturers.