Rebuilding Rob

https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2023/10/27/teens-trick-or-treat/

This is about his timely as this Washington Post article is going to be. It asks the age-old question: how old is too old to trick-or-treat?

I have to agree with the woman whose social media posts went viral regarding her own adolescent children trick-or-treating. We’ve all seen the social media posts that say things to the effect of “some teenagers are deciding to trick-or-treat instead of going to parties were they were conducted themselves in adult behavior. Please be nice to them”

The truth is, I have to agree, with a caveat.

I appreciate that teenagers want to hold onto the waning days of their childhood and I think they should be able to. In order to do so, however , I feel that they must agree to adhere to a certain code of conduct. It’s only one rule really. A simple rule, that may have a few subheadings:

Don’t be a dick

• Yield the right of way and the right of candy to younger children. This is their day, and they are being kind enough to allow you to still be along for the ride. Be respectful.
• Do not scare the children. This only perpetuates the belief that teenagers have no place trick-or-treating. Be better.
• Be respectful to the people giving out candy. Do not tear up their grass, do not trash their yard. Be polite and grateful. Say thank you.
• Likewise, be respectful to the homes where people are not handing out candy. They may be out for the evening, with other plans. They may be in a situation where they simply can’t afford to hand out Halloween candy this year. Again respect is the key.
• Absolutely, positively, under no circumstances do you steal candy. Not from other children, not from your siblings
• Respect the honor system – if a house leaves a bucket of candy out, do not take the whole bucket. Share and share alike.
• Pass on these rules to the younger kids. Inatill in them good Halloween ethics so that one day, we won’t even question if teenagers are too old to trick-or-treat.

If the elder statesmen of kiddom (teens, that’s you) can abide by this code of conduct, I see no reason why anyone could have an issue with teenage trick-or-treaters.

How old is too old for trick-or-treating? If teenagers were to adopt such an “honor system“ of trick-or-treating, would you have less of an issue with them?

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