I was visiting the Mom stuff fan page on Facebook and came across this post. By Open Seven Days a Week. Closed Sundays. Original post http://networkedblogs.com/9CbmE
I thought it would be interesting to get everyone’s thoughts on this subject. When are kids too Old for trick or treating?
When I was (almost) 19 years old, I can recall one Halloween evening, some friends proposed that we dress up and go Trick-or-Treating. I had no objections to being able to use the holiday as an excuse to don a costume and score some free candy.
I also vividly remember the reactions from some of the adults around my neighborhood – “You guys are WAY TOO OLD to be Trick-or-Treating!” “You guys look RIDICULOUS!” “Just HOW OLD are you, anyway?” “Go on and get of here! Trick-or-Treating is for KIDS!”
Although some homeowners were highly annoyed with our pursuit of sugary confections, we were certainly not hurting anyone, or breaking any laws.
Nowadays, if you’re a teen and you’re caught Trick-or-Treating in some cities, you could end up in jail!
When it comes to the Halloween holiday, some cities have placed bans on how old a child can be for Trick-or-Treating. That age is 12.
Some lawmakers have decided that kids 13 and up are too old to Trick-or-Treat, and may be subject to fines up to $100 and time behind bars, if caught breaking the law.
In 2008, Mayor Mark Eckert of Belleville, Illinois decided that it would be a good idea to ban Trick-or-Treating by high school-aged teens, because it made some seniors and single women scared to open the door to find “6-foot-tall kids” looking for candy.
City officials are also banning teens from Trick-or-Treating in Meridian, Mississippi; Bishopville, South Carolina; Boonsboro, Maryland; and various cities in Virginia.
Although a big part of Halloween for teenagers in the 19th and early 20th centuries was vandalism and other acts of destruction, in today’s times, many would agree that the holiday is now all about celebrating children.
Should teenagers be banned from Trick-or-Treating?
What do you think? What are the laws in your state?
wow-I had no idea some cities were banning treating after a certain age. Hmmm...I am usually amused by the teens who have the gumption to still go out and trick or treat. And, I am usually okay with it as long as they make an effort with the costume. Simply jamming on a mask or something doesn't really cut it for me. And a lot of the teen boys barely dress up at all. That annoys me. My daughter is 12 and I don't see an end in sight of her treating days yet. It's still all about the candy.
ReplyDeleteI went trick or treating until 7th grade, because at the time I thought I was too cool :) But my stepson and his friends did it last year and they were 15. I think it should be up to the kids.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, parents should be teaching their kids respect. There are teens that steal candy bags from smaller kids, but there are teens that don't. Laws telling our kids when they must stop trick or treating are silly in my opinion.
Shhhhoooot, I say our kids should act like kids for as long as they can, the fun ends too soon if you ask me :)
I love Halloween!
You know when you are old enough to get in the car, drive to Target and buy a bag of discount Halloween candy-I think that is a sign. My biggest problem with teenagers trick-or-treating is that they ring my doorbell at 10pm, I'm in my pajamas watching The Real Houswives of where-ever, and my kid's are snoozing, I don't want to hear from "trick-or-treater" after 9pm!
ReplyDeleteI think I was 14 or 15 the last time I went. It seemed like that was just how our city was though. So maybe that is my answer. What does more of the city do?
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your comments.
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