My late mother loved Halloween.

She would set up a haunted house in the hayloft of our barn, hanging sheet-clad ghosts from the beams and bowls of peeled grapes for eyeballs scattered throughout hay bales.

Kids in our neighborhood loved coming to our house for Halloween.

But for many kids, gone are the days of furry puppy-dog costumes, bed sheets with two slits cut out for eyes, or jean overalls stuffed with hay to resemble scarecrows.

Many costumes have turned ghoulish and even terrifying for kids (and adults like me).

On one street in our town, neighbors try to outdo one another with Halloween decorations. Many are cute; but over the years, most have gotten bloodier and more frightening, even resembling scenes from R-rated movies rather than a kids’ event.

One home had a bloody-faced person hanging from the porch. As my eyes traveled down, I saw that his legs had been cut off. Spiders the size of cars hung on the sides of houses and skeletons anchored in their yards carried axes, bludgeoning other skeletons.

Aside from being ghoulish, this didn’t even make sense (as though decorations should) — because they were already dead.

In order to keep young children from seeing these sorts of things, our town hosts an afternoon where all the stores hand out candy to young children.

Parents, grandparents and dog lovers dress their children and canines in cute costumes like dinosaurs, M&Ms, and bumblebees.

But even this event has been invaded with folks wanting to change it, traumatizing children. As I walked my 2-year-old granddaughter, dressed in an enormous, furry -quirrel costume up to one store, we were passed by a teen (who should have been in school) dressed in a disturbing outfit.

She was stuffed with pillows resembling a pregnant woman; and in the middle of her belly was a head covered in blood representing a baby breaking through her abdomen. Not only was this site awful, but the baby smiled an angry smile and had a “gotcha” look on his face.

As she walked by, I marched my granddaughter into a nearby store.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Halloween as much as anyone else.

But something has happened. Hollywood has taken over. Folks no longer satisfied with having healthy fun and taking the opportunity to socialize with neighbors compete with one another to push the blood-and-guts envelope.

Bloody heads, bodies cut in half, and axes stuck in people’s skulls have no business occupying Halloween.

Speaking as a pediatrician, a mother and a grandmother, R-rated images should never be thrown in young kids’ faces. We know these harm kids. Pay attention to how many young kids have nightmares.

And, no, it isn’t because they’ve eaten too much chocolate before bedtime.

This Halloween, bring fun back into the holiday. Take your kids out early in the evening (teens tend to trick-or-treat later) — and stay with them. If you see a disgusting costume or a house laced with blood rather than silly witches, pass it by.

Cross the street.

And let your neighbors work with you to keep Halloween a kids’ holiday, not an adult contest to see who can out-gore the other.

This can be a fun time when neighbors chat with neighbors and kids chase one another or see who got more candy.

Let our kids be kids.

And make sure they wear bumble bees — not cannibals chewing on the “pretend” leg of another.

Written by: Meg Meeker, MD
Dr. Meg Meeker has practiced pediatrics and adolescent medicine for more than 30 years. She is the author of the book “Hero: Being the Strong Father Your Children Need” (Regnery Publishing), along with a number of digital parenting resources and online courses, including The 12 Principles of Raising Great Kids.

This piece was originally published on LifeZette and is being used with permission.