It may seem that the Halloween spirit has turned into far more of a trick than a treat. With the rise in fear from parents, the holiday should be just as safe as it is spooky.
When children get freedom on Halloween night, walking around their town with their friends, a sense of independence is often felt. But, the creepy essence of Halloween horror is not only centered around kids who watch movies too scary for them. Instead, a growing sense of worry has spread to parents throughout our country who fear for their kids roaming the streets on the hunt for candy.
Parents view Halloween as unsafe because of the potential increased risks that exist in the holiday’s spirit, according to KTLA News. Children are commonly warned by their parents that “bad” people can make their candy unsafe, according to NPR. Yet KTLA claims that “false rumors about poison candy or hidden blades began in the 1960s and have somehow persisted through the decades.”
Roberta Golinkoff, a professor in the University of Delaware’s School of Education told KTLA she supports the idea that parents should worry less by claiming that “the frequency of these events are vanishingly small.”
On Oct. 31, kids travel in groups to trick-or-treat, making them stand out in their costumes. With reflective clothing, flashlights and vigilance, trick-or-treaters increase their safety walking around, according to KTLA. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons released a list of more precautions parents could take to keep their kids safe on Halloween, including leaving pumpkin carving to adults and choosing costumes that fit your children. By maintaining proper safety, parents could stop worrying themselves sick about their children on Halloween, and spend more time thinking about how to perfect their kids’ costumes while they are still young enough to trick-or-treat.
Modern parents place far too much worry on the spooky day. They should focus more on enjoying the holiday with their children before they outgrow it, rather than spending the season scared of the risks that occur in everyday life.
