Remember the good old days when kids used to dress up as a black cat or witch for Halloween? Well it seems that Halloween Costumes – like much else in life – are being taken a step too far.

Let’s take the ‘Burnt Zombie Child’ Halloween costume selling to  young children in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy this year. At least 18 children died in the horrifying inferno with experts warning tens of thousands of youngsters across the UK have been left traumatised by the disaster. The £34.99 costume, sold by online retailer Escapade, is aimed at children aged just eight to ten years old. Who in their right mind dreamt that one up? How insensitive could you possibly be? I’m not surprised that 99 per cent of parents said they would ban their child from wearing it. I would wholeheartedly agree with them.

ChannelMum.com – in their annual study of Halloween costumes – has found that two thirds of parents say Halloween costumes are ‘too frightening’ for young children, up from just 48 per cent last year.  There has also been an issue with some costumes becoming increasingly sexualised. One in five fear Halloween is becoming more sinister every year. And as lighthearted as we try to keep things in this house, I often find myself have a minor cardiac when I open the door to some of the older kids.

Other costumes highlighted by concerned parents include a Headless Horseman with a bloodied stump for a neck and no face, aimed at children aged just eight, alongside a ‘Killer Clown’ costume for eight to ten year olds which is marketed holding a bloodied meat cleaver – despite rising levels of knife crime.

Do we need to start thinking about age-appropriate ratings on costumes? Nine in ten parents would say yes. It’s a sad state of affairs that it would even have to come to that. Whatever happened to good old spooky not down right scary and totally wrong costumes?

You can take a look at some of the worst offenders this year in this video:

And here they are in list format too:

1) Burnt Dead Zombie Child

Age: 8 to 10

Retailer: escapade.co.uk

99% of parents would not let their child wear it

2) Witch 

Costume Name: Midnight Mischief

Age: Ages 4 to 6 (corset and mini skirt)

Retailer: Party Pieces

Cost: £20.99

98% of parents would not let their child wear it

3) Killer Clown 

Costume Name: Killer Klown Child Costume

Age: 8 to 10

Retailer: escapade.co.uk

Cost: £22.99

95% of parents would not let their child wear it

4) Black Cat

Costume Name: Sexy Feline Catsuit Costume

Age: XXS to fit 24 inch chest – typically a 6 to 8 year old

Retailer: halloweencostumes.co.uk

Cost: £42.99

98% of parents would not let their child wear it

5) Little Devil:

Costume Name: Hot Stuff Devil Costume

Age: 10 to 12

Retailer: Party Priceless on eBay

Cost: £16.98

97% of parents would not let their child wear it

6) Bat

Costume Name: Kids Spooky Bat

Age: 10 to 12

Retailer: wonderlandparty.co.uk/

Cost: £14.99

97% of parents would not let their child wear it

7) Headless Horseman 

Costume Name: Headless Horseman

Age: 8 to 10

Retailer: Party Pieces

Cost: £23.99

95% of parents would not let their child wear it

8) Bloody Face Off (Jason from Friday the 13th Horror Movie)

Costume Name: Bloody Face Off

Age: 8 to 10

Cost: £12.99

94% of parents would not let their child wear it

9) Ghost

Costume Name: Child Howling Ghost

Age: 3 to 4

Retailer: joke.co.uk

Cost: £8.99

79% of parents would not let their child wear it

What do you think? Have children’s Halloween costumes got out of control? Do you hark back to the days of the spooky yet innocent? Which of these costumes do you find the most inappropriate? Do leave a comment and share.

The post 9 totally inappropriate Halloween costumes for children on sale this year appeared first on Motherhood: The Real Deal.