A father wants Kmart to curb ‘graphic’ Halloween displays after his son was left traumatised. Photo / 123RF
A concerned father in Australia has called for shopping centres to ditch Halloween decorations in stores after a “traumatising” experience in Kmart with one of his children.
Tim Doecke has launched a Change.org petition urging shops to stop turning the hallways and storefronts into horror scenes, arguing the disturbing sight can have a lasting effect on young ones.
Instead, he wants retail spaces to create dedicated sections where families can choose if they want to encounter them.
“One of our boys knows it’s Halloween season and he doesn’t want to go to the shops,” he said.
“He’ll close his eyes when we’re going past the checkout in Kmart because he wants to sleep well at night.
“The shops aren’t a safe place for him.”
He said that many of the Halloween decorations, such as cobwebs and spiders, aren’t the issue.
“Much of it depicts violence, horror, and supernatural themes that would earn an MA15+ rating in film,” he said.
“Children cannot avoid these images, and parents lose the ability to control what their kids are exposed to.”
Doecke said he wanted it to be treated like cigarettes, alcohol and MA15+ films – put in a certain section of a store so parents know where to steer clear of.
Another reason for his call to action was his own “personal” experience of still being haunted by a scary book that depicted ancient torture techniques 33 years after he was shown it as a child.
He stressed that he realises not all children are negatively affected by the festivities, but it doesn’t mean it’s not an issue.
“Another of our boys saw a row of witches at the checkout last week. He had a different response,” Doecke shared.
“He ran down the whole row turning them all on until there was a cackling cacophony in Kmart.
“Kind of funny in one sense. But in another, our kids shouldn’t be desensitised to graphic content.
“Graphic images stay with you for life. Kids should feel safe at the shops. Kids shouldn’t be desensitised to graphic content.”
He said that everyday errands for families were made stressful with this kind of graphic horror present.
It seems Doecke isn’t the only one to have this point of view, with close to 1500 people signing his petition.
“My children aged 12, 9, 7 and 4 are constantly scared by the images and sights they see and experience in most shops in the lead up to Halloween,” one person said.
“Nightmares, big questions about their safety. And we do celebrate Halloween and go trick or treating together as a family and with friends, we dress up as nice things, not scary things, visit our neighbours and have a good time. But they should not be exposed to such images and concepts when they are going grocery shopping or present shopping for a friend.”
Another petition signer said that every year her children are terrified, having to cover their eyes while they “scream down the whole store”.
“We wouldn’t let our children be expired to horror films at a young age, but by placing them at the front of a store you are taking away the choice of exposure and the opportunity to protect our children from such scary images,” the parent said.
Another said: “I agree! It should not be allowed. One of my sons still remembers being terrified of someone in a bloody costume, had nightmares for a long time!”
“I work in early years and the number of families who are avoiding the shops because of Halloween displays is astounding,” one added.
It comes as Inner West and Willoughby councils in Sydney have asked residents not to use certain decorations, warning that fake spiderwebs and fishing lines could be ingested by wildlife.
“Animals can get tangled in them or mistake the plastic for food, which can cause serious harm … choose or create decorations that are safe for nature and use less single-use plastic,” Willoughby Council said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
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