Halloween is coming soon, only a few weeks away and the large retailers are having to make space amongst the early displayed christmas products to show off the costumes and scary figures.
I was shopping at a well known superstore today with my wife and three year old. As with most kids, George likes to go to the toy isle to look and play with some of the toys, if he's good whilst we're shopping, we let him have 5 minutes or so. We left that isle and almost immediately after coming out of the isle we were faced with the Halloween section.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm an over protected parent and we'll be enjoying the Halloween festivities with costumes and trick or treating etc, but what we were faced with at the store certainly was horrific for a 3 year old.
Centre display of the Halloween section was a collection of about 30 toddler size dolls, (Just a bit smaller than George) that looked like Uncle Hester from the Munsters. They were all stood together in a group. As with most festive displays now, these dolls were animated, the had their hands over their ears and the then proceeded to detach their heads from their bodies at the same time as howling and illuminating their eyes.
Immediately George went hysterical, as did another young girl that was near by. We had to cover his eyes and move him away from the display quickly, but that was easier said than done as the dolls were positioned in the middle of the cross-isle and was t visable from half-way down the other end of the store.
I have of course registered a complaint with the store and on speaking with the shop assistant was told that she had faced a number of parents complaining of the same thing.
Well how many toddlers are having to have nightmares before they take responsable action and move the display. I wouldn't expect them to move them completely out of site, but perhaps a bit more discreet and certainly not next to the toy isle where countless young children will be faced with the lifesize (to them) figures who are decapitating themselves.
Have some common sense!!