Overprotective Mom

With Halloween right around the corner, I have been shopping for costumes all month. I have to say I have seen some costumes, especially for kids that are characters I don't think our youth today even knows who they are! I saw Rainbow Brite, whose kid knows who Rainbow Brite its today?  You might as well be selling Punky Brewster, costumes that are probably just for the parents nostalgia! 

This brings up a interesting topic at our house, since some characters my daughter knows but has never seen the movies they come from, for example Dumbo, and Bambi. My four year old daughter has learned who they are from books and TV, but now she is asking me when can she watch them. I bended with Pinocchio a few months ago, and was horrified at the content in the movie watching it from my child's eyes.  Have since been told I am sheltering my kids. Now at 4 years old I have to not only tell my daughter that smoking is bad, but I have to tell her what it is! Ughh this is the hard part of parenting. I told her she can see them when she is older, and that is working so far.  So is my daughter going to go Trick Or Treating? I would like to avoid it this year, since my youngest is too small to understand much. However, will I be able to get away with it this year, probably not we shall see.

The idea of having your children go knocking on strangers doors in this day and age just seams wrong to me.  Maybe its because I live in this crazy big city of Los Angeles, where Halloween can bring out the freak in the already freaks.  For kids its just fun to dress up and get candy. I loved filling my pillow case with candy as a child, but back then, we left safe staying in well light neighborhoods, with neighbors we used to know. These days most people don't even know there neighbors on there same street anymore. However, I love Halloween, and so I think next year, I am going to start having Halloween Parties and throwing them at home for family and with kid friendly activities, keeping the begging off the streets for my preschoolers...guess I am just a overprotective mom, and that's okay with me.