It’s Halloween in the 21st century, which means it’s time for the obligatory rash of news stories about barely-there Halloween costumes being marketed to kids. Like this one. Or all of these. Hey, I even wrote one last year. (I like to think I came up with one of the better headlines.)
This year there’s another trend cropping up in the headlines: Schools banning toy swords, fake knives and other ersatz weaponry in kids’ costumes. I haven’t done a district-wide survey, but while I was stopping by Darnall E-Charter School today, I noticed the orange flyers for the school’s costume party, held Tuesday after school: No weapons allowed — fake or otherwise. And, as it turns out, no costumes allowed at school on Halloween day, either. They say it’s a distraction.
I started to get all nostalgic about the good old days, but then I remembered the nonstop warnings I got as a kid about kidnapping and being poisoned.