Halloween: ‘Why can’t we be just like everyone else?’

It’s nearly Halloween – the annual ‘celebration’ of all things dark and sinister, cobweby and pumpkiny, spooky and scary.

For many parents, nothing is scarier than the question children ask about Halloween: Not ‘Why are those people wearing scary clothes?’ Or ‘Why are my favourite sweets suddenly orange?’ But ‘Why can’t we do Halloween like my friends do?’

It’s the seasonal variation of a much bigger question: ‘Why can’t we be just like everyone else?’ – and it applies to everything, from what our children are allowed to watch or play or attend, to whether they can have a mobile phone or a social media account.