Thread: Kids crying

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OK, I had a birthday party for my 7 year old. He had 10 of his friends over. One of them started crying as soon as he got out of his mothers mini van.... It was not even dark out yet..............

One down, more to come.............. I love this stuff.


The goal is to make someone pee their pants.

it makes 'em tough!

I could not agree more!!!!!!!!!!!

what a sin. poor kid. but funny. very very very funny...... hahahahahaha

It's true - it toughens them up. My neighbor's son has grown up seeing our graphic pieces of Halloween decor. He's 5 now and isn't scared of anything. His best friend who's the same age who hasn't been exposed is terrified and won't even come to our party.

Glad we're all agreeing here. Those people who think you shouldn't scare kids and tone it down for them bother me. We grew up with it all, and we're fine. Society is just too mothering these days.

Nice job!

Being new to my neighborhood we're setting up a less scary place in the garage for the really little ones, at least for this year until I see what my neighbors think. Which is not to say I disagree with the philosophies above, just a decision we made to be good nieghbors. The deal is though, I have free reign to do whatever I want with the main haunt. }

However, as has always been my custom, the little ones brave enough to approach me through the haunt (the ones that are clearly terrified but trying to be brave) will be well rewarded for their efforts. I usually hand them a couple handfuls of candy which usually brightens them up a little.

Sorry, making a three-year-old cry isn't my idea of something to be proud of as an adult. Woohoo, I ruined someone's night who isn't old enough to defend himself. What a great guy I am.

If you are so taken with the idea of toughening them up, why don't you slap them a couple times while you're at it?

Sure, seven is old enough that a kid should be able to realize it's all a show. And making a teenager or an adult pee his pants is the ultimate sign of success. But ultimately it's about being entertained, not assaulted. If someone comes away from your haunt genuinely unhappy, you've failed.

I'm not suggesting that you tone it down to the least offensive denominator. Some people have more active imaginations, or are just more sensitive. They should know this about themselves, and should be smart enough not to go to the haunt if they aren't going to enjoy the experience. (My 10-yr-old won't go to the Spirit store; the severed heads and misc gore bother him. My 5-yr-old loves the place. Go figure.) It's not reasonable for you, the haunter, to try to anticipate everyone's level of sensitivity. If we did that, everybody's haunt would be a happy place for three-year-olds, and thus boring to the rest of us. But by the same token there is nothing wrong with providing a kid-friendly area for the younger and/or timid set, and keeping the gruesome stuff elsewhere for those who can enjoy it.

We keep our outdoor decorations PG so as to not scare the little ones so badly as to make them hate Halloween. No body parts, no blood, no gore. We have tombstones, a grave popper mummy and spiders and a giant web and a witch stirring a cauldron over a fire. Spooky, yes. Gory, no.

We still get some that are too scared to make it to our door, and for those, we come down the drive to offer the candy.

I want them to be scared, but in a good way.

Now our indoor decorations are NOT child-friendly, and we've actually had to tell a friend of ours that believe their toddlers are attached at the hip (and drag them EVERYWHERE) that they should not bring them to our party; it was noted on the invites that it was an adult party. We are not toning down the decor inside, and there would be nothing for a 5 year old to do other than to freak out and break things.