When I was little my parents would take me to Haunted House with my friends...although I would shriek in terror I ended up in a fit of laughter...and I'm 22 now, and still love to have the crap scared out of me..

They're gonna be exposed to it one time or another...and it's NOT real....it's fake...make believe...That's what children should know and learn...

Just like santa claus...really? A man breaking in to everyhouse and leaving presents? That's pretty freaky to me...and the Easter Bunny...I'm sorry, but if a huge rabbit hopped into my back yard delivering easter eggs I'd freak out .

If you don't like it...then DON"T look at it. Don't try and ruin other peoples fun...

Halloween is my favorite holiday!!!!

@dayanafranchesca@xanga - perhaps because christmas is jesus' bday or so they say. not everyone would celebrate it if it was not so biased.

halloween perhaps stands on neutral grounds if the accusation of the devil's day was proposed. religious people used to shun anyone who celebrated this day because of the worship we do for demons, satin, etc.

take a look for a bit why do we celebrate thanksgiving every year? it has no ties to religion so no one as any say or condemnation towards others depending why you celebrate. it's a day to give thanks haha, thanksgiving has no significant meaning to me but my family still puts out the banquet table at and we feast till the break is over

@jane - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This is the Best comment ever!

@Sleepypeter1809@xanga - "halloween perhaps stands on neutral grounds..." haha, yeah. okay. Thanksgiving, yes. Pretty neutral. Halloween, No. That's the problem. 

@Erika_Steele@xanga - Amen to that comment

Can we give negative E-Props, if someone is such a complete tight ass, that we just cannot stand their continued breathing?
 Ok, then, I will leave it at this:  My kids are thoughtful, considerate, loving, and cry if small animals die.  They grew up on a steady diet of South Park, first person shooters, and permission to watch anything, as long as I could approve it, and explain the relevance or artistic stance taken.  My kids are operating 1 to 4 grades above their actual grades, and do all those other things that jerkoff soccer moms brag about, like having a REAL talent with the oboe, and able to sing ON key, even to Janis Joplin.

There are unicorns, and ponies in this world.  There are also sick fucks that like to abduct people and do horrible things.  Teach your kids to appreciate both.  There are risks to waiting at the school bus stop, walking in a mall, or even being on field trips.  Hiding the ugly side of things from your kids only leaves them unprepared, should they eventually see something gruesome, and need to react to protect themselves.

Being desensitized to "scary"things, like violence and blood isn't always going to create a criminal.  That is up to the parent.  It can be used to make a child able to cope with dangerous situations. 
So, are you an idiot that would shelter your child to the point of risking his/her life, or are you going to grow the and make sure that your kid can oprate in this cruel world without getting run over?

It's your call.  I hate dumb asses like you, but I pretty much love all kids, even kids of dumb asses, so I will advise that you introduce the real world to your child before the real world takes them to a dark place and does bad things to them that you were to scared to admit happened to people.

Two and a half is a perfect time to get "shock value" reduced on things that aren't real.  Ask your therapist, i'm sure you have one, or will soon enough, if a little preparedness isn't a good thing.  Well, ask unless you are going to hold them legally responsible if they tell the truth.  Maybe when they are off the clock or something.  Don't look to intelligent people to support your puritanistic ban of all things you deem Evil.  We just don't give a shit, by and large, and if we do, we just don't have our kids ogle the offensive uber scary material. 

TL:DR version - Get a life, idiot!

You're being too overprotective of her. Yes some of the things on displayed on Halloween month is inappropriate but you can't keep it from happening. People are still going to do what they want. Don't take her out for trick-or-treating if its that much of a big issue. That's all you can do really.

I can see how this would bother you. I think many of the people who are shitting a cow over your post have no room to freak out, because they don't have children. I don't either..but I take care of a 2 year old girl and a 2 year old boy up to 5 times a week, and have been for awhile. Besides, I'm not hating on you haha. They also don't seem to realize that your kid is 2 1/2, and you can't have conversations with her about confronting her fears, haha.

But really, people can do what they want. As a nation we have to choose freedom or protection. I personally think we don't need any more laws..it's excessive. Your daughter will be fine. But this is just how the world is. If you want to keep these things from her, you're gonna have to do it yourself. No one else will do it for you.

I love Halloween (In the costumes/redbull/candy/fourwheeling/carving pumpkins/oldschool Jason movies kinda way), but there are things you don't shove in a little kid's face. Fact.

I don't think we have the right to change that, though. We have to handle it ourselves.

I agree with you, Mom.

I'm 25-30, don't have kids of my own -- shoot, I'm not even married -- but I hope to someday, and I occasionally put some forward thought into the matter.  I think we will all agree that young children are essentially physiological sponges, soaking up all they see.  The way I see it, the earlier years are when children learn the way things OUGHT to be by exploring the world, whereas at some point they begin to incorporate the way things ACTUALLY are into their already-learned ought's.  A two- or three-year-old, for example, is still learning what the world ought to be like, and doing so by exploring her surroundings, and I shudder to think that any girl even twice her age might learn by any means that even one season ought to be filled with death and dismemberment, let alone extrapolating that to all of life.

Stick to your guns, Mom.  In a world gone blind (in this and so many other ways), you are often your child's only defense against insanity.

well, i don't have kids, but i remember being a kid. i remmeber tgrick or treating and seeing some houses with scary decorations...and i was scared! but i understood that halloween is supposed to be scary, and that it was all in the spirit of fun, and that is was not real. my mother explained all this stuff to me before i went trick or treating for the first time--that the man in the mask was just my neighbor and the frankenstein outside the door was just a doll. so if i saw something i was afraid of, i could simply close my eyes until it was gone, or i could try and be brave and go up to it and ask it for candy! i remember going into a halloween store and being afraid of the masks, my mother simply told me if i was scared, i didn't have to look up--and after a few time, i faced my fears and DID look up. not so scary after all! maybe if you explain to your kids that all the scary stuff is not real, they can face it and not be scared! happy halloween!

I agree with everyone who, in some form or other, said you are unreasonable. You can't turn the world off.

@Sirius_Fan_Girl@xanga - It really depends on the age.  I took a class on child psychology in college and we learned that distinguishing between fantasy and reality was one of the hardest concepts for a child to grasp and that it usually wasn't clear to them until age 5 or 6 (if I recall correctly).  So that's what I meant.   (Which is why I think young kids should be sheltered from things like scary Halloween costumes and scary movies until they can fully understand what's real and what isn't.)