Should Halloween decorations be taken down if they scare a child?

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) — Today’s 98.3 TRY social dilemma is about Halloween decorations. Here is the mail :

Hi Jaime. My name is Tony and I’m emailing you this morning asking if I’m being mean by not taking down my Halloween decorations for my neighbor’s kid who thinks they’re spooky. Ok so my neighbor has a problem with my Halloween stuff. In fact, she came to my house the other day, rang the doorbell, and asked if I could tone down my Halloween lawn display because it’s scaring her six-year-old daughter. I laughed at first because I thought she was joking, but she wasn’t. . I asked her exactly what she thought was scary and she said it was the giant spiders on my bushes and the fake graveyard I put up on my lawn which made up 90% of my posting. I politely refused to remove the decorations because my kids (who are seven and nine) love them. She then said I should take them off because it’s too scary for all the little kids and we won’t get any tricks or treats. When I told the story to my wife, she was so angry that she told me to keep them until Christmas. Is my neighbor crazy or am I insensitive? Hope you can help us. Thanks!

Tony

I don’t think Tony is insensitive. Everyone has their holidays, and it looks like Tony and his family love Halloween. Most kids I know love decorations, but I understand if her daughter is afraid of them. But it might be a good way to teach her about pretending and why she shouldn’t be scared. That’s my point of view anyway. I don’t think he should have to take them out. What do you think? Let’s help Tony out on TRY’s Facebook page.