It’s that time of year again, when parents have to avoid drug stores and Wal-Mart as often as possible, if only to get away from multiple requests for a second costume, or another set of make-up, or a third pumpkin carving kit. It’s also the time of year when we look at costumes that are coming out in the stores and wonder whether it’s okay for our kid to wear some of these outfits. For instance, look at these Warner Brothers Batgirl and Joker costumes for kids. I’m not sure I want my six year old dressing in the Batman outfit, and I’m wondering what your take is on wearing a costume depicting a dead actor’s last character.

I’m not sure how I feel. Growing up, I was the kind of kid who made his own costume (well, after around 10 years old or so), and my six year old daughter likes making her own costumes already. My almost-three-year-old? Oh, he doesn’t care. I could put him in a sack. (Hmmm, might be cheaper that way.) But these types of costumes are at once well made, representative of characters that some kids know from the movies, and are no doubt in demand.

What’s your take? How do you decide what to do each year? Does it matter what age the kids are?