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Article ‘Distressing’ Kmart Halloween Displays Spark Call To Protect Children

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The increasing popularity of Halloween in Australia has prompted a huge uptick in the amount of Halloween decor and costumes filling the aisles of popular retailers. But thousands of parents say it’s gone too far, with a petition calling to protect children from the ‘graphic’ spooky displays.

Queensland dad Tim Doecke is leading the charge, via a change.org petition which has attracted almost 5000 signatures. He claims the displays are either traumatising children, or desensitising them to graphic content.

“Every spring, Australian shopping centres turn entrances and main walkways into corridors of Halloween merchandise,” he explained.

“Much of it depicts violence, horror, and supernatural themes that would earn an M15+ rating in film. Children cannot avoid these images, and parents lose the ability to control what their kids are exposed to.”

Tim said his own children have very different responses to the annual displays.

“One of our boys knows it’s Halloween season. He doesn’t want to go to the shops. 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.

“Another of our boys saw a row of witches at the checkout last week. He had a different response. 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.”

The dad explained he is not calling on the displays to be banned, just moved somewhere away from children’s eyes.

“We call on major shopping centres and retailers to move Halloween displays into dedicated sections so that families can choose when and if they encounter them.

“Children and young people passing through shopping centres, whether with family or with friends, cannot easily avoid these displays. Parents, therefore, lose the chance to decide what their children confront. Graphic horror themes in public areas make everyday errands unnecessarily stressful for families.”

The petition has gained the support of thousands of likeminded parents, calling for change.

“Every year my children are terrified! I have had to cover their eyes whilst they are screaming down the whole store just to get to the back of it,” said Elisa. “One of my children is only 4 and from 2 years prior he still calls some stores ‘the scary Halloween shop’. 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.”

Adrian commented, “Kmart is the worst this year for Halloween decorations. I thought Halloween was supposed to be cute scary, not blood gory. So they turned the gory blood masks around backwards in the shelf. Clap clap. Halloween used to be fun, now it’s just on steroids. Big W and Bunnings you are also under the firing line, but by far Kmart is the worst you can’t even get through the front door without being bombarded.”

What do you think of these in-store Halloween displays? Let us know in the comments below.

(Images via: Stuff Mums Like, Bayfair Shopping Centre, dessertaddictsanonymous, sueshomestyle, mediandnerko

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Comments

  • Interesting read! My kids are older so I hadn’t really thought about it before. I definitely agree that not everyone celebrates Halloween and perhaps it would be best to keep this section to another part of the store! I don’t celebrate it and at our store we chose to have a small basket of lollies on offer but no scary decorations as we know they demographic is quite split on whether they celebrate or not

    Reply

  • I personally find such displays horrible and garish at the best of times. I do not know why, here in Australia, people seem to be trying to make Halloween a thing. It is not one of our traditions and it is really just an opportunity for retailers to try to get even more money out of us when times are tough.

    Reply

  • Halloween originated in Europe and has a Celtic background. Originally Jack O Lanterns were made to ward of ghosts. We have travelled to other places in the world and Halloween is celebrated in different ways and according to local customs and traditions. The celebrations have not been commercial rather steeped in history.

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  • Petition signed. I think the real question here is what is there to gain? There’s negative impact on younger children and not really a learning opportunity. We can still celebrate the event without scary decorations! Even as a teenager these sorts of graphics creeped me out And I’m still not a fan!

    Reply

  • I think it’s a great thing that people are actually talking about this. I said below that I wouldn’t support a ban, but did like the idea of more thoughtful placement. I have visited the US at Halloween (accidentally), and I have to say that most of what I saw there was quite mild really.

    Reply

  • This resonates so much with me and my family. My 7yo has nightmares and remembers things like this for bedtime. Walking through shopping centres and seeing store displays is not something you can protect your kids from and there’s a lot to be explained. Even flicking through Netflix and seeing Halloween recommendations can be distressing.

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  • Oh dont you just Love Halloween it really is a money making business.
    I myself dont like Halloween and I dont understand how it has become so popular here in Australia.
    To me it is a American thing not here.
    I never let my kids go house to house its just a big No from me.

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  • I think censorship is a slippery slope. Kids can get scared and frightened by many different things, whether it’s Halloween related or not. I can empathize for parents who experience this, and understand it can make navigating stores harder, but I don’t believe regulating decorations is a step in the right direction

    Reply

  • I actually do not mind some of the displays for Halloween. There are some creative and clever displays in some shops. It might be a good idea to avoid some shops when children are young and there are concerns about seeing particular products and displays. Our children have always realised they are not real because we touch masks, costumes and toys and explain they are not real and also discuss the history of Halloween.

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  • I think Halloween is harmless however i do think some of the items you can buy are quite scary and could really scary some of the younger kids. Maybe there is a away they can promote and sell these without them being right at the front entrance. i don’t agree with a total ban of it.

    Reply

  • I’m not very keen on Halloween either and I think this dad’s reasoning and considerations make a lot of sense. In our case our youngest loves Halloween and since watching this stuff wants to watch scary movies…so yes, definitely desensitising ! She is nearly 12 year old but with an intellectual disability she functions on a level of a 3-4 year old. She can watch YouTube kids but we have blocked her from YouTube

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  • Its a store and its a seasonal theme – they are there to promote,market and sell the seasonal products hence the product placement being near or front of the store. It grabs peoples attention to know it’s available and to check it out. Thats exactly how i know when new products arrive as i wouldnt go in normally otherwise. It’s all about sales and it would be no different to christmas, Easter etc.

    Reply

  • I agree that these displays are scary and not everyone wants to be confronted with these scenes when shopping.

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  • I do actually agree with this. I would not be convinced about a call for a total ban, but a more considerate placement? Absolutely. I’m not all that keen on Halloween anyway, it’s an American import, but I do agree that being mindful that some people, including children, might need the choice of whether to look at this would be good.

    Reply
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