Halloween is the one day a child can be anything he or she dreams of. Its the one time a girl can be her idolized princess or celebrity, and a boy can finally be the superhero he dreams of. However, there are boys and girls who don’t get to share that experience.
These kids can’t be themselves, because of their gender. If your son went to a costume shop with you and asked you for a Cinderella costume, what would you say? Would you be accepting and ignore all of the stares people would give you on the street, or would you force him to wear something else to avoid the embarrassment? Unfortunately, many parents wouldn’t dare to let their son even think about it.
I vividly remember standing in the party city a block away from my house, scanning the wall of pictures of costumes and their respective numbers, thinking about what I wanted to be for this year’s Halloween. Did I want to be the pink power ranger, or Spidergirl? As I stared at the wall, I heard bickering coming from my right side. I glanced and saw a little boy around the age of 8 and his father, going at each other. I couldn’t help but listen in on the heated dispute.
“Dad, please, can I just be Alice (in Wonderland) this year? Last year I went as Batman for you.”
“But you can’t. It’s a girl’s costume, and you’re a boy,” the father said with a harsh tone.
“You promised me last time that if I went as Batman, then you would let me be whatever I wanted for the next year.” The boy started to tear up. Then his father suddenly exploded, causing the store’s walls to shake.
“MY SON IS NOT WALKING OUT THERE LOOKING LIKE A GIRL. YOU’RE MY SON, SO LOOK LIKE ONE.” He realized the volume of his voice as he looked around to find millions of eyes on him. Face red, he rushed his son out of the store, leaving behind the son’s desired Alice in Wonderland costume.
What’s the point of dressing up for Halloween if you can’t even be what you want to be?
Why would you suppress your child and his or her personality?
Every child should be able to express themselves and be interested in whatever they want. Just because you have a daughter, doesn’t mean it isn’t okay for her to like skateboarding or action figures. Emotional neglect and lack of support from parents can cause a child to develop personality disorders and low self esteem. Acceptance is so important when it comes to children, because it’s the time where they don’t care about judgement and freely express themselves. If that freedom of expression is discouraged, how can the kid develop their own personality. They’re used to conforming to what their parents want, causing them to be confused with who they really are and what they really want.
Don’t be one of those parents who force their kids personalities and interests— allow their freedom of expression. Sure, you might get weird looks and comments from parents when you go trick-or-treating, but at least your child will be happy and confident wearing what they desired most.
Beauty of a Being 