I am a mother of two teenage children, have been a registered childminder for 13 years and recently completed an NVQ Level 3 in early years care and education. As professional childcarers and parents our responsibility is to care and nurture the children in our care. Introducing children to these kinds of celebrations is introducing them to the occult, which, to my mind, is in total opposition to what childcare professionals should be aiming to achieve.
By your own admission the activities mentioned in the feature may be frightening for some children and that some parents may object. So please let's introduce our children to the good and positive things that surround us in this world. Just because Halloween has been marked in this way for years does not make it appropriate or right. Our children deserve to be protected from evil -not encouraged to see it as 'fun'.
Perhaps Nursery World will be brave enough to take a stand against the way we traditionally celebrate Halloween, and in doing so encourage childcare workers to focus on making this world a less frightening place for children to grow up in.
Beverley Farrow.
Rossendale, Lancashire
Anne Wiltsher, editor of Out of School, replies: We thought hard about whether to include Halloween activities in the Out of School supplement.
Although unsuitable for younger children - and with the proviso that parents are consulted - we concluded that Halloween activities would be enormously popular with older members of an out-of-school club.
In middle childhood, boys and girls are mature enough to understand that the ghosts and witches of Halloween are pretend, and can enjoy the thrill of being 'scared' while knowing that it is only fantasy. The drama of dressing up in black and white, and lighting orange pumpkins on dark nights is obvious in its appeal. Not surprisingly, Halloween is increasingly popular, with parties being held on 31 October and children going 'trick or treating', following on from the American tradition. Even some schools are now holding Halloween events.
