AIBU to think WTF were the parents thinking?

[JakeyRolling]

DS (7) had his school Halloween disco last night.

Amongst the usual questionable costumes (Squid Games guards, tiny cheerleaders outfits Etc… The kind I wouldn’t do and I can’t understand why a parent would but not inherently problematic) there was one kid in a Santa outfit with a scary pointy “blood” splattered mask and a stabbing knife. (The mask is similar to the pic)
Quite apart from the fact the school has a “no masks” policy, this was for the P1-3 age group so the oldest kid was no more than 9 and therefore many kids are still believers.

DS is autistic and was a bit upset by it and we had to explain several times it was a costume.

AIBU in being pissed at the parents?

Because this argument has been going on since slashers became big in the 80s and just as much research debunks the idea...

I am actually a strict parent when it comes to what I let my children watch and am inclined to agree with you that it’s not great parenting to let young children play/watch such things, however the comment I quoted earlier was trying to say it was the reason for so many children stabbing each other these days and I disagree because that will be 99% drug and gang related.
There has also sadly always been children drawn into the criminal world did you miss Oliver Twist and the pickpockets? Nothing new.

All is besides the point the child this post inspired most likely didn’t even watch the scary Santa film and just saw the costume in the shop and thought it looked cool.👌🏻 The other point being some children find traditional costumes like ghosts, witches and vampires scary so where do you draw the line on banning costumes in case they scare other kids or do you just cancel halloeeen altogether?

Is it debunked? I thought it was inconclusive.

Depends whose funding the research tbh

I’d cancel it personally. Just another excuse for shops to sell tat, sending your kids out begging for sweeties off strangers in sexy outfits or dressed as serial killers is utterly bizarre - why we need this in our lives I do not know. There are so many other events more joyful and positive that we could celebrate.

I’m in the US and it’s a fun holiday here. No overthinking, just kids dressing up and having fun - very positive and joyful.

It is meant to be cute for younger children. Horror film references ruin it for me. It was never about that.

Interesting as DDs have got older their costumes have become more camp and funny than scary.

"A child Jack the Ripper"
"Just fun costumes"

In what universe is a child dressing as an actual rapist and murderer considered fun?

Perhaps it would be even more hilarious to dress a child as Wayne Couzens or Ian Watkins. After all, Halloween isn't meant to be "cute". 🙄

not in the UK they don't - this is a primarily UK site.

Halloween is about frightening away evil spirits - it's not about being cute.
However keeping things age appropriate for a school party is much more important than the origins of Halloween - that means nothing completely terrifying for very small children, and also nothing inappropriate in any other child protection sense either.

Halloween isn't meant to be cute. Of not scary too scary but you should expect to meet a dressed up monster, ghost, mummy, fake blood and alike.

Fun on the surface but underneath Halloween is a dark and sinister night, dabbling in occult practices. You do your children no favours by celebrating it.

How come? Do you think it harms the children to celebrate halloween?

Halloween aka Oíche Shamhna (the eve of Samhain) is a very ancient celebration. You can look it up if you’re interested.

The issue is it’s a locus of evil spiritual activity, particularly necromancy and divination.

Participation, even meant as ‘fun’ opens a door to evil influences in a person’s life in quite unintended ways. I strongly urge people not to do this to their children.

I have read about Oíche Shamhna but tbh I don't follow you.

Most Halloween celebration is harmless fun. Even my childrens' Roman Catholic secondary school throws a dress up party. But ok they also expect the pupils to go to an All Saints' Mass. It might even the evil influence.
At our home it's mostly pumpkins, food and games with friends tonight.

I’m a Scot and it has a long history here - way beyond the tat.

And it’s fun - we’ve decorated our whole house because we love seeing the joy on the kids faces as they do a party trick to EARN their sweeties.

Why aren't little kids dressing up as witches cats and ghosts anymore? Honestly what are parents thinking? Halloween doesn't = horror

Mine still do

I don’t see an issue with it. It’s a costume and Halloween

they walk among us!

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!

I don't get it either

They see pictures of them when scrolling through Netflix.

Kids netflix doesn't have adult horror films

Plague doctor is a great costume but you can't have possibly thought it was appropriate for a 6 year old to be dressed as Pennywise, a fictional clown that murders children which was partially based on real life murderer of young boys John Wayne Gacy? There's no way a 6 year old should have seen the film and the book is full of child abuse, racist language, homophonic language and sexual scenes culminating in a group of 10 year olds taking it in turns to have sex with the one girl in the group.

Sorry but seeing children dressed as characters from such inappropriate media is a real pet peeve of mine.

I don't really understand why Halloween costumes moved from ghosts & ghouls (sheet with eyes cut out) to the killing fest which seems to be the norm now. And I can't see how cheerleaders fit in at all.

Partly consumerism and another selling opportunity for retailers, partly Americanism?

I'm showing my age here.

I also think that Santa costume is revolting.

Our primary school was religious and had no Halloween anything so we never had this issue. In defence of some parents, they may have older kids/teens and lose sight of what was scary and inappropriate at age 7.

I think people hanging bodies in body bags and hanging nooses etc, blood everywhere is a a new thing though. Putting up cobwebs, skeletons and pumpkins seems ok but I think it’s upsetting to see the way it’s heading. Where does it stop?

Plenty of girls and boys in the UK do cheer the same as they do dance, karate, swimming, football, Scouts etc...