AIBU to think WTF were the parents thinking?

It came from college football and was originally a male activity. 4 former US presidents were cheerleaders-Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush. It doesn’t have its origins in high schools or with girls at all. Most US high school teams these days would also be co-ed.

it's a SCHOOL party. Completely reasonable to have rules, and the no-mask rule make sense for so many reasons, and SHOULD be applied to all children.

The whole point of Halloween is that children get scared.
it really isn't.

Regardless, it's should be age-appropriate anyway.

Would you take the primary school kids to a fright event, which are 15+ or even 18? Of course not. Or you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children 😂

Why have a Halloween party and then limit what children can wear? The whole point of Halloween is that children get scared. If the children are too sensitive they shouldn’t be going to the party.

I would like to see a step back towards the more fun traditional costumes of ghosts, witches, skeletons and the like, but it's not going to happen is it. What I would have done is reminded the child in the gory mask of the policy on masks and said that I would look after it for him until he was ready to go home. I don't know why the organisers were too wet to take action, it shouldn't be too difficult to be firm but kind. That kind of mask is really horrific for children of that age group; some might be fine with it and have no difficulty associating it with "just dress up stuff", for others it will be the source of nightmares for a while to come.

I wouldn't have an issue with it in later years, but that age group, nah. Totally unnecessary.

They see bits and pieces referenced in other things like roblox etc. Other kids talk about them. I watch tons of horror and have shelves full of dvds with them on the cover. They see pictures of them when scrolling through Netflix. Youtubers talk about them. Loads of ways

But how do they know who they are? Particularly your five-year-old?

In North America anything goes for costumes. Not sure why it is all scary stuff in the U.K.

What I don't understand is that if the kids haven't seen the films/know of the history behind certain figures, then how are they sufficiently aware of them to want to dress up as them?

My DC would never request any of those costumes, because they don't know the characters exist!

My DD this year is going as a generic witch and DS demon Jinu from K-pop DHs.

Love this! My 12 year old is obsessed with michael myers (hasn't seen the films) and doesnt like wearing masks (ASD) so he bought himself a MM t shirt. My 9 year old wants to be chucky next year

I think it's a bit gory and scary for a mostly KS1 disco, but I think YABU and daft about the Santa connection. There are fake Santa hats all over the place from October to January.

Jesus some people really need to lighten up.

I think they need to change the name to be more reflective of this sport, which sounds different to what most people imagine when they hear the word cheerleading.

Violence has always been around - nobody would dispute that - it’s exposing loads of kids to it that’s a problem. Through social media, very realistic films etc children in their masses are being exposed to violent content in a way that is totally new. I know some kids sadly have always had violence in their lives but now it is so much more prevalent and easy for all children to see.

Absolutely fucking vile for primary age children.

If you are a parent who doesn’t see an issue with it - YOU are the problem and a good example of everything that’s wrong with our fucked up society.

When dd was this age she only every wanted to dress up has a pumpkin. For years she was a pumpkin.

Yes your right, I mean children who believe in Santa should damn well be able to logically work out that the scary horrible mask is just a mask when it keeps them up at night and enters their dreams in intrusive ways they have few defenses against. And when my child is scared of his closet because a ghost might be in there. I'll bloody well tell him to stop being an idiot because of course it's too small for a ghost to fit in!?? Stupid kids, geez can't they use logic by now. Duh.
I'm sorry, obvs I need to step away from mumsnst for a bit.

“Get out from under your rock” - wow rude.

my kids are 10 and 11 and there is no such policy in our school.

Being devil's advocate here... if children buy into Santa being real, then why would they not buy into zombies, slasher Santa etc. ?

I accidentally saw a clip of Terrifier and was having nightmares for ages 😂, that’s definitely not ok for a child to wear, especially at primary school, it’s horrible!

My 5 year old is going trick or treating as Michael Myers’s including the mask and knife 😂 my 7 year old is Chucky and 9 yr old is pennywise. They haven’t seen the films but seem to know who they are!

Violence has been around a lot longer than scary movies. Where would you like to begin slavery, shall we start there and the horrors from back then?

Thank you this is what I was thinking but you put it a million times better

Explain this to me then:
Recent data: In the year ending March 2024, children committed over 3,200 knife or offensive weapon offenses. Possession was the most frequent offense, accounting for 99.7% of the total.
Increase from a decade ago: The total number of these offenses is up 27% compared to ten years ago, though the number of immediate custody sentences has fallen.
Carrying knives
Prevalence: About 1 in 20 teenage children in England and Wales reported having used a weapon to threaten or hurt someone in the past year. Over 2% of 13-17 year olds reported carrying a knife.
Reasons: Many children who carry knives state it is for self-protection, often out of fear of gangs or violence, but research suggests this can make them more likely to become a victim.
Impact on daily life: Over half of teenage children report that their daily lives are affected by concerns for their safety.

Some parents just have to go that extra mile and flout the rules.

In my school, we had a year 6 girl turn up on World Book Day dressed as Pennywise from It. Yes, a book character, but seriously? The mum had firm for being difficult.