How can it be dangerous for children psychologically? They dress up in costumes, they go around--nowadays, usually with their parents--and people give them candy. What's the message? "We like kids." What could possibly be wrong with that?
I love Halloween because it isn't freighted with any serious or heavy messages. Nobody has to listen to speeches, nobody has to think about dead people, nobody has to sit up straight around the dinner table for an hour with a bunch of old adults and be told to pass the sweet potatoes to Aunt Vera, and eat their vegetables, and only put one scoop of ice cream on their apple pie.
Now it is time to share my own opinion. I work with children. Often we organize very useful educational event and meetings. However sometimes I like to arrange some simple activities just for fun such as water battle, different party with this or that theme where children could dress up. They adore to wear any costumes/ Such event are useful as well because they help me in teambuilding, children learn each other more close and learn to work together. I don't see any harm in dressing up, maybe because I adore to do it as well. I like to impress people by my new image. I have a little son. He likes to watch haloween cartoons , yes, he is scared at the same time. And I remember my childhood we didn't know such holiday as Halloween but we liked to tell terrible stories to each others. In the dark dark room, there was a dark dark door and behind it there was a dark dark...
I am a pretty normal now and my friends are not maniacs so i think it is part of children psychology to like such horrible and exiting stuff.
Anyway we are going to have a Halloween pary at my work. Everybody has to bring any dish decorated with spiders, for example, or any other horror stuff. And visitors have to be dressed up any interesting costumes.
I agree with Dan that this holiday is degenerated to a commercial event. However the same as Christmas and others holidays. Shops always will offer you to buy but it is your choice to do or not to do it. At least I am going to handmade my costumes (an elegant sceleton wearing a hat with wide brim) and cook a pizza with cobweb made from cheese... I am sure we will have lots of awesome pictures)
