Now That I'm A Parent, This Isn't Funny...

[mesmer242]

I don't think my parents took my sister and I out as babies, but definitely as toddlers. There is a very cute picture of my sister dressed up as a pumpkin at 2 years old and I remember my dad carrying her. I noticed a lot of the parents in my neighborhood stayed on the sidewalk by the street on Saturday, but when I was a kid there was always a parent with me going to the door. That might have to do with the weather in my current state (pleasant) as opposed to where I grew up (where Halloween costumes fit over snowsuits).

I don't care about the ages of the ToTers at my door. If you dress up, you get a piece of candy. We went through five bags of candy and I'll probably buy more next year.

I did dress up to hand candy out in a very non-threatening costume and everyone liked it. My DH's costume (we had a party Friday) was a bit on the scary side, so although I thought about asking him to get into again, I realized that might not be best for the little ones. I doubt he wanted to anyway, so problem solved. I would definitely agree that anyone doing anything scary at their house should take into account their target audience. I don't have kids, but I do remember how my sister got when she got scared as a kid (she and I have very different dispositions), and I wouldn't wish that kind of screaming/crying bout on any parent.

[Elle]

One year my dad wore his old Air Force flight suit with helmet and oxygen mask. For the little ones he'd lift the visor and take the mask off his face. For the older ones he'd stagger out of the rocking chair in the foyer breathing like Darth Vader. (He rigged our suitably creaky door to open when he pulled on some dental floss to simulate ghostly unseen hands opening the door)

[artk2002]

Hey, to be fair the OP didn't directly say she thought scaring young children was funny- I took it to mean she just never realized that what was fun for "her" wouldn't be fun for young children, and that's something a LOT of people don't realize until they have kids of their own.

That makes sense, I was just giving her a hard time.

Nurv, I think Shu meant me. And sorry, I still interpret the OP as implying it's funny, or used to be funny, to scare little kids - unless OP also means he/she no longer finds being scared funny him/herself?

Whether or not the OP thought at one time that it was fun to scare little kids is immaterial.  I don't think that it helps anyone to chide someone for an attitude that they have now changed.  As I said in  response to a similar comment, I doubt that there is any one of us who hasn't realized that some attitude we held earlier is not now appropriate.  Some people come to enlightenment faster than others, but it's not productive to criticize the slower ones after they have amended their ways.

[Audrey Quest]

Hey, to be fair the OP didn't directly say she thought scaring young children was funny- I took it to mean she just never realized that what was fun for "her" wouldn't be fun for young children, and that's something a LOT of people don't realize until they have kids of their own.

That makes sense, I was just giving her a hard time.

Nurv, I think Shu meant me. And sorry, I still interpret the OP as implying it's funny, or used to be funny, to scare little kids - unless OP also means he/she no longer finds being scared funny him/herself?

Whether or not the OP thought at one time that it was fun to scare little kids is immaterial.  I don't think that it helps anyone to chide someone for an attitude that they have now changed.  As I said in  response to a similar comment, I doubt that there is any one of us who hasn't realized that some attitude we held earlier is not now appropriate.  Some people come to enlightenment faster than others, but it's not productive to criticize the slower ones after they have amended their ways.

Slower?!  Man, it's just lack of experience!
 
Maybe she should have just said "Now, that I'm a parent I realize how easily these little people get scared of things that I thought were funny and lame when I was a teenager."
 
I don't think she meant that kids being scared was what was funny but that people dressing up in scary costumes was funny but now that she has kids, she realizes that little ones get really scared.
 
When my kids were really little, I didn't take them trick or treating--too hard to corral them.  So, I organized a Halloween party at my church where kids could come and play Halloween games, get candy--I made a ghost cake and other people brought other munchies.  It was a good time until some killjoys at the church decided that celebrating Halloween was somehoe "demonic" and wanted to restrict all the kiddies to only dressing up as people who were Saints--so we didn't have the party anymore--we went to the mall instead until they were all old enough.
 
The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)

[jaxsue]

The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)
    

LOL. Most saints were tortured and martyred. I can think of lots of scary saints costumes. 
 

[NotCinderell]

The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)
    

LOL. Most saints were tortured and martyred. I can think of lots of scary saints costumes. 
 

The martyrdom of St. Lucy would make a good horror movie.

[purplemuse]

The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)
    

LOL. Most saints were tortured and martyred. I can think of lots of scary saints costumes. 
 

The martyrdom of St. Lucy would make a good horror movie.

I've seen "Noah's Ark" as a theme for a church-based "Halloween" party-- the kids go dressed as animals, and not a beheading in sight.

[Starchasm]

The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)
    

LOL. Most saints were tortured and martyred. I can think of lots of scary saints costumes. 
 

The martyrdom of St. Lucy would make a good horror movie.

One of my friends was Saint Sebastian this year    Incredible costume, must have taken him forever.

[Nurvingiel]

The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)   

LOL. Most saints were tortured and martyred. I can think of lots of scary saints costumes. 

The martyrdom of St. Lucy would make a good horror movie.

I've seen "Noah's Ark" as a theme for a church-based "Halloween" party-- the kids go dressed as animals, and not a beheading in sight.

As long as the kids don't dress up as any of the millions of people who drowned!

[M.]

Hey, to be fair the OP didn't directly say she thought scaring young children was funny- I took it to mean she just never realized that what was fun for "her" wouldn't be fun for young children, and that's something a LOT of people don't realize until they have kids of their own.

That makes sense, I was just giving her a hard time.

Nurv, I think Shu meant me. And sorry, I still interpret the OP as implying it's funny, or used to be funny, to scare little kids - unless OP also means he/she no longer finds being scared funny him/herself?

Whether or not the OP thought at one time that it was fun to scare little kids is immaterial.  I don't think that it helps anyone to chide someone for an attitude that they have now changed.  As I said in  response to a similar comment, I doubt that there is any one of us who hasn't realized that some attitude we held earlier is not now appropriate.  Some people come to enlightenment faster than others, but it's not productive to criticize the slower ones after they have amended their ways.

I just think it's awfully convenient - kind of like people who become ******** (decide they want to be in a totally open rel@tionship) AFTER they're married.

EDIT: Wow, I can't believe the filter ate the whole word!

[Scout Finch]

The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)
    

LOL. Most saints were tortured and martyred. I can think of lots of scary saints costumes. 
 

The martyrdom of St. Lucy would make a good horror movie.

I was going to bring up St. Lucy.  Have you ever seen a painting or statue of her?  Gruesome.

[Sway]

Hey, to be fair the OP didn't directly say she thought scaring young children was funny- I took it to mean she just never realized that what was fun for "her" wouldn't be fun for young children, and that's something a LOT of people don't realize until they have kids of their own.

That makes sense, I was just giving her a hard time.

Nurv, I think Shu meant me. And sorry, I still interpret the OP as implying it's funny, or used to be funny, to scare little kids - unless OP also means he/she no longer finds being scared funny him/herself?

Whether or not the OP thought at one time that it was fun to scare little kids is immaterial.  I don't think that it helps anyone to chide someone for an attitude that they have now changed.  As I said in  response to a similar comment, I doubt that there is any one of us who hasn't realized that some attitude we held earlier is not now appropriate.  Some people come to enlightenment faster than others, but it's not productive to criticize the slower ones after they have amended their ways.

I just think it's awfully convenient - kind of like people who become ******** AFTER they're married.

I don't know what the ******** is for but I agree that it does seem awfully convenient.

I don't think that it helps anyone to chide someone for an attitude that they have now changed.

I don't think it's helpful to chide someone for doing something that you once thought was funny and now no longer do, and that's the impression I get from her second post. If it took having kids for her to get that it isn't funny to do that to little kids, then why doesn't the guy get a pass for possibly not having reached that point?

[NotCinderell]

The one year my two youngest went to parochial school they also did the "you can dress up if you dress as a saint" so that there would be no scary costumes--I guess they forgot about how some of those saints died!   (Like John the Baptist!)   (Several kids were sent home!)
    
LOL. Most saints were tortured and martyred. I can think of lots of scary saints costumes. 
 

The martyrdom of St. Lucy would make a good horror movie.

I was going to bring up St. Lucy.  Have you ever seen a painting or statue of her?  Gruesome.

I majored in art history and spent some time backpacking in Europe, so I've seen a bunch.  A lot of saints died gruesome deaths, but she wins.  Okay, she and Bartholomew win.  Imagine a post martyrdom Lucy and Bartholomew...Now that's scary.

[hobish]

Hey, to be fair the OP didn't directly say she thought scaring young children was funny- I took it to mean she just never realized that what was fun for "her" wouldn't be fun for young children, and that's something a LOT of people don't realize until they have kids of their own.

That makes sense, I was just giving her a hard time.

Nurv, I think Shu meant me. And sorry, I still interpret the OP as implying it's funny, or used to be funny, to scare little kids - unless OP also means he/she no longer finds being scared funny him/herself?

Whether or not the OP thought at one time that it was fun to scare little kids is immaterial.  I don't think that it helps anyone to chide someone for an attitude that they have now changed.  As I said in  response to a similar comment, I doubt that there is any one of us who hasn't realized that some attitude we held earlier is not now appropriate.  Some people come to enlightenment faster than others, but it's not productive to criticize the slower ones after they have amended their ways.

I just think it's awfully convenient - kind of like people who become ******** (decide they want to be in a totally open rel@tionship) AFTER they're married.

EDIT: Wow, I can't believe the filter ate the whole word!

I don't see the parallel. Would you mind expanding?

[M.]

Hey, to be fair the OP didn't directly say she thought scaring young children was funny- I took it to mean she just never realized that what was fun for "her" wouldn't be fun for young children, and that's something a LOT of people don't realize until they have kids of their own.

That makes sense, I was just giving her a hard time.

Nurv, I think Shu meant me. And sorry, I still interpret the OP as implying it's funny, or used to be funny, to scare little kids - unless OP also means he/she no longer finds being scared funny him/herself?

Whether or not the OP thought at one time that it was fun to scare little kids is immaterial.  I don't think that it helps anyone to chide someone for an attitude that they have now changed.  As I said in  response to a similar comment, I doubt that there is any one of us who hasn't realized that some attitude we held earlier is not now appropriate.  Some people come to enlightenment faster than others, but it's not productive to criticize the slower ones after they have amended their ways.

I just think it's awfully convenient - kind of like people who become ******** (decide they want to be in a totally open rel@tionship) AFTER they're married.

EDIT: Wow, I can't believe the filter ate the whole word!

I don't see the parallel. Would you mind expanding?

Gladly. The parallel is that some people are only invested in what's convenient or comfortable for them, regardless of how incongruous the timing or the fact that they may have failed at being empathetic in the past.