Today is Halloween and I am sure that if you have children you are fully aware that it is Halloween day (and if your children are like mine, they have told you ten million times already…before 7 am…please pass the coffee!) but all this aside, children everywhere are excited and want to throw on their costumes now and “get this party started”.

Where I am from Halloween has hours (and I am pretty sure this is everywhere), so between the hours of 5:30 to 7:30, I will have my little princess and scary face (ugh, not my choice….you know that scary face mask from the movie Scream) out with me, knocking door to door, saying “Trick or Treat” and waiting to see what goodies they come home with.

When I was growing up, I remember this excitement, and I loved every moment of it. Being able to show all my friends at school my costume and have our “Halloween Party” in the afternoon, with yummy treats and usually a Halloween movie. Well, times have changed and at our school the children no longer wear costumes to school, and there are several reasons for this. As upset and disappointed a lot of children can get (mine really do not mind), I can totally see the point and the reasoning behind why our school (and many other schools in the area) are saying “No” to costumes and “Yes” to Orange and Black Day.

I guess firstly, we must think of the safety of our children. In the past, our school had a Halloween parade in the gym for anyone to come and watch. The kids, while they loved the parade. To them it is just an innocent way to show off their amazing costumes that they love, but from a parent point of view (and an educator) think about the fact that the school has its door’s opened for anyone to come in. (When you think of it, that is kinda scary). Also, think about Kindergarten (and I taught Kindergarten, so I know first hand), trying to get 20 little 4 and 5 year old’s into their costumes is no easy task.

Next, of course your child is going to want to wear the costume that they plan on wearing trick or treating, you run the risk of having it get ruined before the main event. Then you just have an upset child, and a parent who has to scramble and find another costume a few hours before Trick or treating starts (NOT an easy task and let’s not mention it’s more money).

Schools are supposed to be that safe spot for children, not all children have the same home life and some feel the safest at school. So let’s throw a bunch of kids with scary costumes at them…ummm…no thank you. Also, not everyone has the money for fancy, store bought costumes (I also think hand made is much better personally), but some children are cruel and may get teased or bullied because of this. Then there is also the fact that not everyone celebrates Halloween, there are many religions that frown upon the holiday.

So really I feel that dressing our kids up in black and orange is one of the best ways to get around  a lot of these issues. While some parents may be upset that their child can not wear their costume to school,  I am one of those parents that fully supports our schools decision to go Orange and Black. It can still be fun to pick out what they are wearing and accessories can be added to spice it up a little (like glowing pumpkin necklaces from the dollar store or fun headbands). Halloween is what you choose to make it, but most importantly,just remember to have fun.

Have a Happy Halloween and as always, take care…