Primary schools ban Squid Game costumes for Halloween

29 October 2021, 07:57 | Updated: 29 October 2021, 07:59

Squid Game promo reveals behind-the-scenes of the glass bridge game

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Schools are banning Squid Game Halloween costumes in the US, with parents being warned they 'glorify violence'.

Three primary schools in New York state have banned children from dressing up as characters from the Netflix series Squid Game.

The South Korean survival drama tells the story of Gi-hun as he battled through a series of playground games.

But due to the very gory twist, now the schools are worried it ‘glorifies violence’ and have emailed parents to warn kids not to wear the costumes.

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According to The Times, the statement sent out tells parents that Halloween ensembles tributing the show won’t be allowed on school grounds.

Schools in New York's Fayetteville-Manlius School District have also banned Halloween outfits with items "that can be interpreted as weapons", and those that are "too gory or scary".

While the show is rated 15 in the UK, in the US, Netflix rates Squid Game for mature audiences which means it ‘may not be suitable for ages 17 and under’.

This comes after a council here in the UK wrote to parents and guardians of school children warning of the dangers of replicating games from the show.

Watch the trailer for Netflix's Squid Game series

Its popularity prompted Central Bedfordshire Council to email parents about their concerns over ‘aggressive’ pupils.

As reported by The Guardian, the email said: "There have been some concerning reports recently about children and young people 'playing' Squid Game whilst at school.

"Squid Game is also being viewed via other platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, and given the popularity of the games in the show, developers have made various mini-games based on Squid Game on Roblox and other gaming platforms."

The council email continued: "We strongly advise that children should not watch Squid Game. The show is quite graphic with a lot of violent content."

The council later explained that some kids were being ‘aggressive’ in the playground, telling the BBC: "Last week our education safeguarding team were made aware that some primary-aged children in one of our schools were behaving aggressively on the playground while replicating games from the Squid Game programme.

"It was felt that these young children had seen clips of the programme, which has a rating of 15 due to its graphic nature, on social media.

"Following the concerns raised, the team shared information about parental settings, and resources to support parents to keep their children safe online."