Scared of Halloween decor

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Scared of Halloween decor
1
Fri, 09-02-2005 - 10:44pm

Have you seen the stores??!! Why do they have to put out the Halloween stuff soooo early!!! I can't take him anywhere if I know there is going to be Halloween decor. He's scared to death!!!!! He was getting better last year...at least I thought he was. But now, he's just stands there, TERRIFIED!!! He's cold, clammy, sweating, crying and screaming!!! And he holds on to me for dear life!!!

I get all of my shopping done while he is in school. But then there's Tyler. He WANTS to look at the Halloween stuff!!!! Are any of your kids scared of the Halloween decorations??? I can't believe that he's 6 1/2 and still scared. And next comes xmas!!! Those large talking Santa's that go off when you walk by!!!! Who thought that was a good idea?????? Even "I" jump when I'm not expecting it!!!

Michelle

Avatar for googolplex
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Sat, 09-03-2005 - 12:53am

Michelle,

David is 7 now, but when he was 5 he was really scared of all that stuff. He still is sometimes, but not the same way. We couldn't even drive down certain streets because of a billboard that had a Halloween Store ad on it, with a creepy looking skeleton face. When David was 4 and 5, a lot of kids were wearing those "Scream" masks, and he was so scared of those that it pretty much ruined the Halloween experience.

I have a lot of pet peeves, and Halloween in modern day America is one of them. I don't have a problem with skeletons, ghosts, or witches. But lately it seems like there is way too much gruesome stuff. There are some folks on our "block" who always put out this hideous plastic, severed, bloody head. I don't want to bring my small children past something that looks like a guy who has been maimed. And I don't want to bring them past things that look mean and creepy. What exactly are we supposed to be celebrating on Halloween that requires that kind of gruesome yuckiness? And if your preschooler can walk past "decorations" that look like guys with their faces burnt off, and NOT be scared, then what does that say?

Over the years, here in California, we've been exposed more and more to the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead, or El Dia de Los Muertos (?). It's similar in some ways to Halloween, but much more charming and meaningful, IMHO. There are skulls and skeletons everywhere, but they are humorous. If I had any say in the matter, we'd celebrate that instead of Halloween. In fact, someone might be able to clarify how and if the two holidays are related, historically; I don't know.

Evelyn

So, yeah...I know what you mean.