Kids (and many adults) love dressing up in Halloween costumes. And what’s not to love? Pretending you’re someone else for one night of festive frolic and good-natured candy begging … that’s a pretty awesome holiday, in my opinion.
As we’ve started planning ahead with our kids, combing through costume catalogs and websites, I’ve noticed a bizarre trend. And it’s one that I find a little disturbing.
What’s up with the way-too-grownup, weird, and/or totally inappropriate costumes for little kids!?
Let me offer a few examples to avoid.
Ummmm, who wants their 8-year-old wearing this? (And how ’bout that gargoyle in the background, eyeing his “prey”?)
Let’s inform all the neighborhood pedophiles that our daughter is all ready to be a child bride — she just needs a groom!
Son, let’s dress you up as the most loathed household insect. It’ll be fun! We can spray you with a pretend can of Raid for “special effects.”
Mom, I want to be a sniper who takes out crazy kidnappers when I grow up.
So those are some strange costumes. But then there are just the blatantly oversexualized “slutty” costumes, specifically for young girls…
Please, no corset-like costumes for little girls. Please.
Freeze, Sexy Police Girl Costume! You’re under arrest … for statutory dressup.
“Rag doll, daddy’s little cutie, hot tramp, come on up and see me …” Noooooo!
A firefighter in fishnets? This costume is especially marked for teen girls. Who have side jobs as strippers?
I’m not being overly prudish, am I? I’m fine with wee lil’ ghosts and goblins, witches and rocker girls. Let’s just agree not to put our kids in costumes that encourage them grow up too fast.
In my next post, I’ll share some of my favorite, and totally appropriate, Halloween costumes for kids. Meantime, please feel free to chime in below with more costumes to add to my “That’s Just Wrong” list.
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19 thoughts on “Halloween Costumes for Kids (That Are Just Plain Wrong)”
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Susan – this is great. I have to say this one made me cringe: http://www.sears.com/in-fashion-kids-girls-bad-spirit-halloween-costume/p-SPM6281746603?prdNo=33&blockNo=33&blockType=G33
Yikes! I do not want my daughter wearing that.
Hilarious! I love it! Last year we took our son to Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland in Anaheim, so I had to hunt for a costume. There are two options apparently for women in their 30s: haggard old witch or sexy, everything on display witch. I thought to myself, Wow! What is wrong with the world?!
Grownup costumes are a whole different ballgame! I would love to see more and better options for grown women who want to dress up with their kids for Halloween.
Basically, if you are a female, child or adult, your costume shop options are SEXY WITCH! SEXY LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD! SEXY SNOW WHITE! SEXY KITTY CAT! I’m ready to just cut some holes in a sheet and be done with it.
Casper the Friendly Ghost! Perfect. 🙂
Last year I walked out of the store in utter disgust. How anyone can design a costume featuring a corset and fish net stockings for a two year old is beyond me.
OK seriously? I get there are some questionable costumes but really? Your comment regarding the cockroach, swat, and the little Gothic Victorian style dress (first picture) were ridiculous. The cockroach idea is actually pretty ingenious because originally Halloween was mean to dress up as ghouls, demons, and other scary creatures as a way to ward off evil spirits then it became a night of spooking each other out. So what better way to scare your friends than to be a giant roach? Someone posted a link to a black and white cheerleader out fit and oh my gosh it had the Jolly Roger on it, run away! Really? Halloween is a gothic holiday therefore costumes are going to be tailored as such but because the older women want to dress all sexy for it then that changed the whole game and now the whole holiday just became an excuse to wear as little closing as possible and of course that leaks into our youth costumes. Here is an idea, how about spend some quality time with your kids and come up with a home made costume (since that used to be the tradition also).
I agree with Lynn.. There was nothing offensive about the cock roach or the swat team.. Personally I think the bride is adorable and I think you’re the weirdo for associating it with the local pedophiles. As if something a child wears could potentially attract or deter a predator of that caliber? The act of the child ringing the pedophile’s door bell is more dangerous than any consume.. Lets face it, if your kid is abducted by a pedophile on Halloween, the costume will be thee first thing to go! Furthermore, Lots of little girls dream if being a beautiful bride one day.. It actually looks similar to communion dresses or the ones worn in quince área celebrations.. Both of which are religous, as I’m suuure you are, as well. I’m surprised you condone the holiday at all with that terribly stuffy mindset. Blogging material must be scarce these days of you actually took the time to complie this ridiculously lame list.
Look……..things have been this way for thousands of years……by the time that girls have immediately noticeable breasts…….and rounded hips……they become attractive to ANY male…….that is not going to lie…….right in your face!……..deal with it…..!
I’m gonna say: General rule- At an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM, for a girl to wear a costume designed to show off her legs… she must actually HAVE LEGS!!! (I know. I know. sometimes legs are happening at 12, 13, 14. And that’s still FAR too young. But, I mean… look at those examples! Let’s start with a small victory and at least get them out of FRIGGIN’ grade school before “sexy” themed costumes come into play!!
My daughter is 4 and is begging to be a cockroach for Halloween. She has a great sense of humor, I think. She has also mentioned a slug. Those are the only 2 things I can get out of her. Sometimes it’s the kids that are requesting these things. And yes, she is only 4 and it is ultimately up to me to make sure she has an appropriate costume. I still think a cockroach is funny.
Patty, kids are a hoot, aren’t they? And if your 4-year-old wants to be a cockroach or a slug, that’s just so wrong, it’s totally right 🙂
Good 4 you!!!!
God for bid you guys actually look at what reality is and see that maybe if you guys weren’t fat lazy pathetic woman sitting around on their asses and saw that some of these costumes are actually not that inappropriate especially a ridiculous swat costume or cock a roach, even costumes for little girls that are fully clothed in outfits that would have been worn 200 years ago for a normal child, you maybe at some point in your lives could get over talking shit about stuff like this and actually think about something that may be a little bit more important. And if you’re too busy worrying about what your child is doing walking around the streets alone trick-or-treating and having pedophiles watching then than maybe you should actually be with them holding their hands while the trick-or-treating like a good parent. Start worrying about what you’re doing with your child and around your child and being there for them then worrying about what costume they might want to wear for one day A year for maybe two hours. Jesus Christ get over yourselves!
Whoa…..I got anxious and cringed out a third of the way through this comment.You seem super angry and on the attack. Like maybe you’re mad about something else that was on this blog previously? Or maybe you know the person who wrote the post and you have some bad blood? Something has to explain your caustic, WAY over the top response. You personally attacked the writer for having an opinion. That’s it, just an opinion. Other people disagreed, but they didn’t swear and call her names.
I actually found this page googling “kids cockroach costume” because my four year old son is adamant that he be a cockroach for Halloween. I tried to dissuade him but he insists that roaches are scary and freak him out, so he’s going to scare people and freak them out. So yeah, my son is going to be a roach for Halloween. I’m not thrilled but hey, he’s confronting a fear and it’s definitely going to be unique. ?
Our daughter was never baptized as a baby,so when she was 15 we finially had her baptized at Easter vigil on easter sunday.The little girls,preteen and teen girls all wear the traditional white,poofy,short sleeve,top of the knees baptism dresses with the matching bonnet,white tights and white patent leather shoes.Under their dresses a cloth diaper and plastic pants is worn under their tights with a tee shirt as their top.The daughter looked really cute in her outfit! I put the entire outfit away in a white box.That halloween her and her friend,who was also baptized with her,hatched a plan that they would dress up as babies to go out trick or treating!They both put on their baptism cloth diaper and plastic pants with their white tights over them and a babydoll top and wore their bonnets.They each had a pacifier around their necks and carried a baby bottle.I couldnt believe that they would go out like that and let themselves be seen like that.After the daughter got home,she sorted thru her candy and then told me that 4 teen boys grabbed her and her friend and pulled their tights down and took cell phone photos of their diaper and plastic pants.