It’s finally Halloween season and the fall festivities have begun: pumpkin picking, hay rides, haunted houses, candy shopping and costume selection. Costumes are the most iconic parts of Halloween, but some elementary and middle schools are considering banning kids from wearing their costumes to school.

Arguments have been made stating that there are endless reasons why costumes should be banned ranging with two major reasons being distractions and economic concerns. For example, according to NBC News, a Wisconsin elementary school that has banned Halloween costumes told an NBC reporter, “We want to be inclusive of all families including those families who don’t celebrate Halloween or find purchasing a costume a hardship. Also, there have been behavior and time management concerns related changing into and out of costumes.” But these issues either have easy solutions or are simply ridiculous.

People argue that in financially struggling homes, wearing Halloween costumes to school can create a lot of pressure. According to Bankrate’s Halloween research, the average child’s costume costs $29.60, excluding accessories; this isn’t exactly cheap. To solve this issue, share old Halloween costumes within your community or offer to help a family out, if needed. Instead of eliminating costumes altogether because some families can’t afford them, communities should come together to make sure every child has access to a costume.

Wearing Halloween costumes to school can be distracting: some are bulky and make it hard to sit, some crinkle with the slightest movement and others spark excessive conversation among students. But a day of distraction is worth experiencing a long-standing American tradition.

Giving students one day to have fun and relax will not hurt their academic experience. In fact, having some fun every once in awhile will make youth enjoy and appreciate school more. Many students will not like school if the only memories they have from it includes taking notes and tests. When fun days like Halloween are mixed into the school year students are more likely to enjoy school because they have fun memories correlated with the place. In fact, authors of a study published in the “Review of Educational Research” conducted more than 15 years of analytical research on schools worldwide. The study suggests that a positive school environment will result in the students doing better academically and reduce tardiness.

Halloween is a tradition that is meant to be fun. It is absurd to consider taking away one of the paramount parts of the holiday. There may be some distractions or extra effort put in throughout the community, but kids should have a chance to have fun. Do we really want to take away rich, fond memories from our nation’s youth?