Are you not sure how old is too old to trick or treat? Whether you think there should be an age limit or not, here are a few of my thoughts and how my family answers this question.
Halloween is a fun time of year for all ages. Some of our favorite Halloween ideas are these adorable Juice Box Covers, Dead Man’s Body Game and this hilarious Throwing Up Pumpkin Guacamole.
Trick Or Treating Age Limit
Growing up, my mom implemented the rule that once you were 12 years old you were done trick-or-treating. I remember when I turned 12 I was not too happy with this at all. A lot of my friends still went trick-or-treating for a couple more years and I just didn’t think it was fair.
Now that I have kids of my own, I kind of agree with my mom!
Even now, as a mom of a teenager, I get a little annoyed at the teenage trick-or-treaters that run around our neighborhood. Not all of them, but a lot of them.
There are definite exceptions to this, but I have found a big majority of trick or treating teens are usually not being supervised (which is fine) but they are also being disrespectful, trampling through yards, breaking decorations, stealing bowls of candy left out on porches, walking in the street with total disregard to cars that might be coming, and they are being silly showing off in front of their friends.
They also come around with their pillowcases full of candy, sometimes after the lights are off and we’ve gone to bed. Some of them don’t even wear costumes and others wear gross costumes or ones that are really revealing! (Why do all the witches costumes consist of mini skirts and tube tops now a days?)
But I digress…
Trick-or-Treating Should Be For Younger Kids
The exception to this would be those who are respectful, dressed in fun costumes, and those who still find fun in the actual act of collecting candy. If your 17 year old wants to go with a group of respectful friends, or if they want to take their younger siblings out while you pass out candy at home – go for it!!!!
We all mature at different times in our lives. For instance, I have a 10 year old who has decided he no longer wants to go trick-or-treating with his friends. He would much rather stay home and hand out candy or have a friend over while his younger siblings are out going door-to-door.
I also have a 13 year old daughter who is super social and loves being with her friends. Each year a group of them get together to go trick-or-treating. Most of the night she will take her younger brother and sister with her around the neighborhood. This experience has shown me that it’s an individual decision at that there shouldn’t be an hard age limit on when kids should stop trick-or-treating. Once they start asking themselves, “am I too old to trick-or-treat”, the end is probably near.
Alternatives To Trick-Or-Treating
- Plan a Halloween party
- Have them invite friends over to watch a scary movie
- If you’re feeling really ambitious, have them put on a haunted house for the older kids in the neighborhood
- Growing up, we lived close to Disneyland, so we went to the Disney Not So Scary Halloween Party. While this only applies to those in California and Florida, there are other fun Halloween activities close to everyone. Pick something your older kids will enjoy and do that!
There is so much you can do to make Halloween fun!
ALSO….
Can we talk about parents who trick-or-treat for their babies?!
(Your kid is 2 weeks old, this candy is for you and that is pathetic.)
I love Halloween and I have enjoyed dressing my kids up since Ethan’s first Halloween when he was 9 months old. Costumes are fun, I LOVE seeing babies in costumes, but sweet-toothed parents ruin it for me.
More Fun Halloween Ideas
- Out of Candy Trick-Or-Treat Printable
- Halloween Bingo Game Printable
- Soda Bottle Halloween Labels
- How To Make Witch Hat Cupcakes
- Halloween Tic Tac Labels
How Old Do You Think Is Too Old to Trick or Treat?
Leave me a comment, but please keep it friendly! I know this may strike up some difference in opinions, and that is ok, but let’s play nicely! 🙂
I see nothing wrong with teenagers going trick or treating as it is a fun part of growing up! I myself did it up untill i was 14 with friends and we had lots of fun! I do believe tho that teens should use some disgression in the costume they wear! We had to 15 year old girls come trick or treating and both of them were dressed as babies! They each had on a pink tee shirt with ‘baby’printed across the front and a cloth diaper with adult size nursery print plastic pants and had their hair in pigtails and each had a pacifier on a ribbon around their necks and carried a teddy bear! I was somewhat taken aback when i openrd the door and saw the two of them! I felt that they both were leaving themselves open to possibe assault or some thing else!
I agree! 🙂 I didn’t always feel this way because I had a couple of years of teenagers in our neighborhood that would go around picking on little kids and being rude and obnoxious, but once my kids started growing up, I actually love and welcome it… just as long as they aren’t punks! (But the same goes for little kids too!) 😉
I know I’m really late with this, but this just popped up in my pinterest account and I thought it may be interesting to hear the opinion from an actual younger person. I’m 20 right now, turned so this month. I’m no mother either. But why not join the discussion.
I do not agree on putting an age on when you should stop trick-or-treating. Not all kids grow up at the same speed.
Psychically nor mentally. I for instance hit puberty on the age of 11. Bodily that is. I was mentally still a kid. I hated everything all complications that came with ‘being a woman’. I just wanted to still play around. I think I started maturing mentally at the age of 14 or so and I still turned out fine. Some boys and girls from my age group, took even another year (or two) or so to hit puberty mentally. Let me tell you, they turned out fine too!
Therefore you should not stick to a certain age for different activities and their ‘maturity level’.
At the age of 12 all the kids in my class were still playing ‘hide and seek’ and tag. Three years later, kids
who were the same age as we were then we’re putting on make up and acting like they were sixteen year olds.
There were more ‘mature’ options back then too, but I wouldn’t have liked them. I very much dislike scary movies and the so-called Halloween parties where pretty much excuses for youngsters to do stuff they normally shouldn’t.
Why running your good experience of something?
At fourteen I stopped going for my self, but started taking out kids who’s parents wouldn’t/couldn’t take them to go and i still you. It’s lot of fun to see them happy and excited.
I think as long as teens are polite, dress up appropriately and just just have fun, there should be no problem with their age. I agree on the moms who go with only their babies to get their own candy though. I’ll agree on the fact that once you get your own baby, you’re too old to go trick or treating for yourself.
I think that’s it. I’m not that good at writing opinions. I tend to get incoherent and confusing.
I hope you guys understand anyway. If some of the words I used don’t seem to fit in the sentence:
I probably messed up. English is my third language, so it’s far from perfect. Just try and seek word that looks/
sounds alike.
Okay, enough of this!
Have a nice day everyone!
As an alternative to other activities, I think it’s okay that teens trick-or-treat. However, I think they should follow some rules. 1. Wear an appropriate costumes. With so many kids running around, seriously, try to be appropriate for them. 2. Wear a costume period! I seriously dislike it when teens show up at my front door not wearing a costume! Half of the fun of Halloween is wearing a costume! 3. Say “trick-or-treat”! It’s not that hard, and it’s the point! 4. Finally, say “Thank You.” I think if teens follow those rules they could easily trick-or-treat.
At my house growing up, my mom enforced the rule that 8th Grade was the cutoff. I got to go as a 9th grader only because my sister is 10 years younger than I am. Our Middle School ends at 8th Grade, and the High School doesn’t allow dressing up at school, so 8th seemed like a good time to call it quits. I still dress up every year (and go to class that way) and you bet I’ll keep dressing up for years to come! Halloween is my favorite holiday.
What a spoil sport you are! Obviously your sense of fun died at age 12. If they’ve made the effort to dress up what’s the big deal? Grow up and enjoy the holiday for what it is. (And this is coming from someone who never went trick or treating!)
BTW I think you’ll find the “other” type of witches (ie not dressed in long black rags with warty noses) are coming from more modern shows such as charmed and sabrina.
How old is too old for a young person to trick-or-treat? When they lose interest, that’s when they’re too old, and the age that happens varies with each individual. Many teens become conscious of their figures and appearance and want to be more responsible about what they eat and aren’t about the candy so much anymore, and their interest in make-believe and sweets has naturally given way to interest in socializing and being accepted in social company. But it should come naturally to the person and not be arbitrary or forced.
I think I went trick-or-treating ONCE with friends as a teenager. Other than that, I went with younger siblings and had a great time. I think as long as they’re dressed appropriately and being respectful, I’d be okay with it. The parents with the six week olds bug me more. And people who ignore the fact that the house light is OFF. If it’s off, we’re done giving out candy people! It probably means that my kids are asleep and you knocking on my door, or worse, ringing the doorbell, is waking them up! Argh!
I might have agreed with you at some point, but being the parent of a teenager changes my perspective. I would’ve (maybe a little begrudgingly) given them candy, with the fear that I would have to tell some tiny Cinderella or Transformer that I didn’t have anymore candy because the big kids took it all (kidding). But now that I have a teenage daughter, I realize that the only other option for them, besides sitting at home, is going to another kid’s Halloween party. Halloween parties for teenagers are most likely not what you are envisioning. It’s usually a typical teenage party with possibly alcohol & drugs.
I would love to throw a safe party for her and her friends, but two things stop me. Most importantly, I’m also the mother of three much younger girls who still trick-or-treat. But also, in this day & age, agreeing to a house full of teenagers is risky business. It’s too easy for your location to be facebooked and tweeted, and you can end up with an out of control party in no time. You are responsible for those children, even if they have brought their own alcohol in without your knowledge. I’m finding that I’m grateful that she and her friends have trick-or-treated instead of going to the parties I know they’ve been invited to. You have to look at the situation from every angle sometimes.
Very interesting perspective from so many. I’ve learned a few things just reading through the comments that I’ll consider down the road, but for me, I got to Trick-or-Treat through Elementary School. Most of my friends got to Trick-or-Treat throughout the Middle School years, but I understand why my parents didn’t want us out beyond 5th grade and I plan to enforce the same (and now see that I should be prepared with fun alternatives). I didn’t feel robbed of anything and I respected my parent’s guidance and rules.
I am ok with teen trick-or-treating. Like everybody else said why not? If they are polite and not pushing at the little ones. As far as scary costumes go, well I am one to always have skin peeling, blood dripping, creepy stuff, every since I was little (odd child I know LOL), for the low cut ones, I don’t allow my teen/pre-teen daughters to dress that way but I am not everybody elses mother. I don’t agree with it, even for myself though.
The mothers, if they were dressed I would say “And one for mom for putting out the effort”. It’s only candy, not bars of gold.
I wish I would have done this tonight! I’m okay with teenagers, but grown-a** moms in regular clothes who open up their purses for me to throw candy on their lipstick and keys – really? It might be a cultural thing in my area or something, but it irks me.
Wow. I’m kind of shocked that your mom was so mean. I love having teens come. They’re just as interesting and fun as younger ones just in a different way.
I am so tired of leaving teens in a limbo–too old for the fun stuff and too young for the adult stuff. I don’t give a rat’s butt what they wear. I’d rather have them coming for candy instead of trashing stuff out of boredom.
Frankly any adult who’s willing to dress up to entertain me is more than welcome to some candy, too.
As a parent of kids ranging from 4 to 15, I’m pretty appalled that anybody would single out my teenage son as too old for anything. Teenagers are still kids. Halloween is a fun holiday for kids and teenagers are still kids. At my house, my kids get to eat a handful of their own candy and the rest is donated. They don’t trick or treat for the candy. They do it for the fun of dressing up and the festivities in our neighborhood.
You’ve probably heard more than you want on this subject but I just wanted to say that I think teenagers should be able to trick or treat as long as they are wearing a real costume. We get some kids who aren’t, and those kids get smarties or dumdums at my house.
I agree with the librarian above that adults generally have bad attitudes toward teenagers. Teenagers are people too. And everyone needs candy on Halloween. Adults can buy their own or steal from their kids! lol Teenagers can get jobs and buy themselves candy, but its not the same as trick or treating. I would rather my teens went out trick or treating than to some of the parties I am sure go on that they could be going to.
I think that trick-or-treating should have an age limit. I grew up with one. I can’t remember any teenager ever trick-or-treating when I was a kid. The ones that did, seemed to be troublemakers. I think that still stands true today. Teenagers are very greedy!! I’ve never had a little kid ask for more candy, but teenagers do. Teens also don’t sit on Santa’s lap or go visit the Easter Bunny. There’s a reason….once you become a teen, you’ve outgrown it and no longer “believe”. There’s no needs for teens to be on streets during Halloween!! I say an age limit of 12 is more than fair.
I think you’re being very unfair to say that teenagers are greedy. I’m 17 and I’m planning on trick or treating this year, but it’s because it’s the last year before I go off to college and I want to hang on to my childhood just a bit longer. I love going to different people’s houses and seeing their decorations, so you could say I still ‘believe’. Lots of my friends want beer parties and slutty costumes, but a good number of us want to get dressed up (loofahs this year) and have a nice, fun night. It’s not like the houses we go to ever run out of candy, and we’ve never stayed out past 8:30 because we know that’s a bedtime for most young kids. You can’t just say that all teenagers are the same.
I’ve met 12 year olds that I would trust to watch my children and I’ve met 12 year olds that I’m sure still play with toys in the bathtub. Not all children mature at the same rate. I will hand out candy to whom ever comes at an appropriate time. I’ve had lots of older kids (yes, they are still kids) come to my door in great costumes! And if they don’t have a costume and they still want candy…they have to sing. I’m a little teapot is my fave. You wouldn’t believe how much they get into it! My kids will get to trick or treat until the don’t want to anymore.
PS…I don’t think letting kids be kids is coddling them. 12 years old is HARDLY close to adulthood…they probably haven’t even hit puberty yet. I personally don’t want to look back and wish my kids weren’t grown. I want to look back at cherished memories of their childhood and proud of the person they’ve grown up to be.
As a librarian specializing in youth services, I find this whole conversation very reflective of most adult attitudes toward teens in general. I’ll spare you all the scientific and biological details of the adolescent brain and development, and why childish behavior is completely appropriate for their age.
Why don’t you take this as an opportunity to get to know the teens in your neighborhood/community? How often do teens take the time to talk you? You can ask them their name; who their parents are; where they live. Then they don’t become nameless teens, but real people. Be an adult, and demonstrate how to behave. Be an example.
One of the reasons I didn’t hand out candy as a teen (see my above post) is because my mom did. She loved talking to all the kids, parents, everyone who came to our door. In the early 90s, during an economic downturn, while talking to some kids she didn’t recognize, she learned that their parents were having trouble getting food on the table. She ended up giving them a bunch of canned food at the end of the night. From then on, she always made sure our pantry was fully stocked out Halloween night, just in case. My point is that you don’t know what goes on in other peoples homes, and that by judging people, you lose out on an opportunity to get to know people and possibly help them out. Just because it’s Halloween night, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t practice kindness first.
I only buy enough candy to last about an hour or so, which means the little kids. by the time the big kids roll around there’s nothing left for them. The thing I dislike about the big kids going around is that ( a ) most of them are old enough to get part time jobs and buy their own candy. and ( b ) most of them don’t even wear a costume. For me, I stopped trick or treating when i was about 12 or so. But I did take my younger cousins and brother out for a few years 15, 16, yrs old. Some people offered me candy and i was like I’m not trick or treating, just walking with them (it was usually on my paper route and I would hand them the paper while my cousin/brothers did the trick or treat thing) but I got some candy put in my paper bag ha!
This year, I have a 14 year old student staying with me, She wants to go trick or treating. I said no you’re too old. She said I don’t care I will go anyway. But her parents and the school both have set the rule that no she can’t. So I will do my best to keep her from sneaking out to trick or treat!
I guess my big question is, whatever happened to planning activities for the teens on Halloween? We used to have a big dance every year where we got to dress up, dance with the cute boys, eat junk all night, then get a goodie bag when we left. It may not have been on Halloween night but the weekend before. Then it was fun to stay home and see all the little kids, dress up and hand out candy, and inevitably, there was a ton of candy from my brother’s spoils that my mom would give me. Not to mention the stuff you lift from your own bowl. 🙂 I was much more interested in the dance and being with my friends than the door to door thing. I wonder if more teens are trick or treating because they don’t have any other activities planned for them.
If they’re wearing a costume, they get candy (or juice boxes, because that’s what we hand out!:). I’m just throwing this out there, but when deciding whether or not to give a “teenager” candy, make sure that they really are teenagers! I have a VERY tall 11-year-old who had her feelings hurt last year (at the ripe ol’ age of 10!) by a grumpy lady asking “don’t you think you’re a little OLD for trick or treating, DEAR?” Poor kid! 🙁
I don’t think there is as much of a “magical age” as there is a mentality and spirit. If a 19 year old comes to my door and is respectful, has a good costume and has manners – I’ll probably give him/her extra candy. When people come to my door, I always ask who they are dressed up as, and the teenagers who don’t have costumes don’t get candy from me. I just say, sorry no costume no candy. It usually gets a laugh from the other kids in the group and I hear comments like “see I told you that’s not a costume”.
lol
Having trick or treated till I was roughly 15, I find these ideas quite irritating. I dressed up and so did my friends. We went around at the set times for our city. We didn’t shove or do anything to hinder younger children from getting candy. So, if you would have put an ice cube in my bag… well I would have had all my friends stop at your house for more because we were going to teach you a lesson. If you wanted to be a jerk, which is exactly what that is being, then you paid the price. So, if your friends mom thinks she is slick then she will have another thing coming because sooner or later someone like me will teach her that being a jerk doesn’t pay. Btw, tell her that she should invest in heavy duty gloves and some really strong cleaner… feces is a real duzzie to get off of windows, cars, siding, roofs, etc. when it dries.
PS – as a teenager, I did check my bags because I ate the candy as I went… once again, someday she, or anyone else, who thinks this is a great idea will learn better.
PSS – normally once we did this to someone, we stopped by every year after to leave them with a trick from us for their crappy treat.
I guess my question is… You had nothing better to do at 15 then to go trick-or-treating? I’m pretty sure at 15 I was handing out candy to young children and going to haunted houses specifically for teenagers. Not really sure why anyone at that age would want to go door to door with a bag to beg for candy. I had a job and bought my own at that age…
Sadly, the teenagers that trick or treat in my neighborhood are not as polite as you and your friends were. They do push ahead and I’ve even seen them scaring the little ones on purpose, to which I don’t give them candy. Growing up, there were a bunch of teens that would literally threaten the little kids with a hammer and steal their candy.
If teenagers come to the door and are polite, I don’t mind. But unfortunately, at least where I live and manners are supposedly important, the teens are lacking. Strangely, it’s only the boys who seem to trick or treat. There aren’t any girls that look above 10 that come around.
Actually Elisha, you and your group of friends don’t sound like you were very nice or appropriate. To take such revenge upon someone because they didn’t give you a piece of candy is quite INappropriate, and childish. You would be the exact kids that I would wish would just grow up! I thought it was stupid that kids would pull pranks like that when I was a teenager and I still think it is supid and childish.
You say that you would teach a lesson about being “a jerk” by being a jerk right back, how does that make you better?
I think teenagers trick-or-treating is ridiculous! The parents on here that are saying to let them have fun and do it as long as they want are the parents that coddle their kids to the point that its disgusting! We wonder why children/teenagers are so lazy and irresponsible now a days? Take a look at their parents. If you want to have Halloween fun at that age have a get together with your friends or hand out candy to the little kids that are trick-or-treating. Stop babying these teen or they will grow up to be the kids that always live at home and have no job! And I love the ketchup idea 🙂
You can’t group all teens and parents into one catagory like that. That is what is wrong with this country. Let’s punish all because a few are out of hand. As a mother of three very successful teens (4-H, FFA, Junior Honors Society, top 10% of their classes, volunteer, participate in athletics, barrel race, etc. etc.) I have to say if my “coddling them” is what made them this way, well I will continue to baby them by letting them dress up and get candy on Halloween. Who knew that was babying them :P. – Another point, we live in a small farming town, so not every teen is a lazy never do well, these kids work all the time. So like I said you can’t lump them all together.
We implemented the Middle School rule when my oldest was younger. We’re just mean that way! 😉 Now my middle child is really disappointed because she has now reached this milestone; however, has come to accept it, and asked her little brother if he’ll share his 3 Musketeers with her.
My mom told us that eventually we’d be too embarassed to trick or treat, and we were. I’ve often thought our rule would be that unless you’re supervising a younger sibling at a trunk or treat, it ends when you’re out of Jr. High, and I’ll buy you a bag of assorted candy if you help siblings or pass out candy.
When I was 13 I didn’t go Trick-or-Treating because I thought I was too old and I missed it, so I went the following year (and every year when I was in high school). My friends and I wanted to dress up, but didn’t want to go to Halloween parties where girls were expected to dress as Play Boy Bunnies or lingerie models, and beer was the “treat”. We always dressed appropriately, were respectful, and had a great time. As for the candy, we usually ended up giving most of it away to our church to use in Christmas stockings for the less fortunate. Kids are constantly being pressured into acting older than they are, in some of the worst ways, why not let them be childish for a little longer?
As for the baby trick-or-treating, I took my sons to our closest neighbors, just so they could see how cute they looked in costumes, and not one of them would let us go without taking candy. And, yes, we ate it! What’s the big deal? It’s fun and they’re saving you the trouble of eating all the leftovers!
Thank you for sharing Kathleen! I wasn’t as selfless as you but I had a simular experience. Luckily I lived in a small close knit community that for the most part didn’t do the above to teens. My wife and I also took out our 1 year old simply to show her off. We got candy and we ate it but the point was being able to have an appropriate venue to show off our daughter.
I think the rule of 12 is a great one. And I REALLY hate when people take their babies trick or treating…I felt awkward taking an 18 month old with a large group of friends. Everybody knows the parent is going to eat that candy.
We are going to our church’s trunk or treat and I know I am going to get annoyed at the teenagers who make the rounds of the cars two or three times…I will NOT give them the candy more then once…and that first time will be begrudgingly. 😉
my guess is all these kids whine about not being treated like an adult..until it comes to this. There are better and more appropriate ways…good scary movies..parties…dressing up and handing out candy. There is a limit for everything.including childhood. at 12 one is growing up and needs to learn other things. If a teen comes to my door I’ll hand out candy..but I think they should be doing something more aimed for their age group!
Funny how we’re willing to force our kids to grow up on something that is childish like trick-or-treating, but when it comes to school and homework, parents think it’s important to enforce childhood and let them be kids. Maybe we should reconsider our priorities and allow them to be kids on something they want to be kids on and force them to be adults in something that actually matters like their school work.
I totally agree with you! My mom had the 12 year old rule too. When you got older you did “older kid” things like Halloween parties with friends or as I learned to love good scary movies – mom and I would make a night out of that. And I learned to enjoy giving out candy to the lil ones. It should be a part of growing up. I have no problem with newborns tagging along with siblings, but I agree with you again. That candy is for the parents – not the kids. Good lord can’t a little kid have something that’s specifically theirs? Wouldn’t I look silly at 32 going door to door with a pillowcase? Maybe we should just to see the expressions we’d get. 😉
Trick or treating should have no age limit! However there should be a costume requirement and saying “trick or treat” should be required too. What I can’t stand is when the big kids/teenagers come up to the door with absolutely no costume AT ALL. And they don’t say trick or treat. Hate that! We always ask them, what do you say in order to get them to say it.
I trick or treated until high school in fun appropriate costumes. I do agree with your comments about the revealing costumes. I think this needs to be taken up with the costume manufacturers. Have you ever tried to find a lady’s costume in the store? Good luck!
maybe it depends on the experiences you’ve had with halloween-growing up and now, we’ve never had any big problems with any kids-as long as they have a costume, i have no problem with trick or treating. i know with my 14 year old too, there’s so much pressure to grow up all the time, why rush it, if she wants to trick or treat and wear a costume, that’s fine with me. she goes around with my husband and i and the rest of our kids and we have fun. even if she wanted to go with some friends, as long as they were dressed up, i’d keep my eye on them, know where they were and let them have fun. i’d rather she be trick or treating than doing some other things.
I have to say I agree with you about this. I think 12 is the cut off. That doesn’t mean halloween is over or you have to sit home and do nothing, but dressing up to give out candy or letting your older kids have a little halloween party is something more age appropriate.
I 100% agree with you!! 12 for my kids will be the last year for them! there is just no need for it after that!! I hate when teenagers come to my door in jeans and a t-shirt and a mask!! not necessary!! And half the problem is, is that sometimes tricks come more with the teenagers being out!!
so long as they’re not rude about it or get in the way of the little ones I have no problem with older kids and teenagers trick or treating. And I’ll be honest, I let my son trick or treat so I can eat all the chocolate. Sue me 😉
I don’t mind the age of the trick-or-treaters as much as I mind the time that they come. Teenagers seem to come late at night and even though I have turned off al of the outdoor lights, they still ring the doorbell at 8 or 9 pm after my kids are in bed. Super annoying. This year I am unplugging the doorbell when I am done answering the door.
Sadly, every year when we give out our full size candy bars, we get MOTHERS who not only take one for their 6 month old in the stroller AND for themselves. Really? You’re going to let your 6 month old eat that Snickers you just put in the bag? Tacky!
We are struggling with what age is right around here too. My son is 11, and he is apparently too cool to dress up this year. That leaves us in a bit of a bind, as we participate in an annual Halloween party with trick or treating afterward. I know he’ll want the candy, but doesn’t want to don the costume…
On another note, I heard on XM Radio’s Kids place Live the other day that a guy put ice cubes in the older or the annoying prankster kids’ bags. He kept the bowl up high so they couldn’t see what he was dropping in. Sounded like pieces of candy! Wonder how wet their bags were? 🙂
I believe Halloween is like everything else in life…if you’re not going to participate, you shouldn’t reap the reward. 🙂 11 is a tough age. They don’t want to be grouped in with the little kids anymore and they’re not quite teens but want to appear cool to the older kids. I think Steph’s idea is a great one and if that doesn’t work maybe point out an older kid that he looks up to who participates and maybe he’ll feel better about it. If you dress up and get into it, eventually he may catch the enthusiasm. If not at this age, then when he has kids of his own! 🙂
If you make the effort to have a costume, or to dress up in the spirit of Halloween, you deserve a candy. No matter how old you are. Don’t be mad teenagers like to have fun and enjoy a good time on Halloween, just because your mother thought it was immature once you are older than 12, doesn’t mean she’s right.
I agree if the kids dress up, then ok. But in our neighborhood I start getting the teenagers at about 8 and none of them even dress up. Even more insulting is they don’t even have a bag, just stick out their hand. I tried to get my kids to stop at 12 but they still wanted to go out so I let them as long as they were respectful. I too was not allowed after age 12.
Well … I sure do disagree about the babies trick or treating I have a 1 yr old however I only go around with her because my 8 yr old does not want to leave her “out” of the fun, and even though I only give my older one 1 piece of candy for a few days then trash the rest, I still allow my kids to enjoy themselves for a night.
Did you know you could donate your candy to military through a local dentist buy back program? http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/ Enter your zip to see if any near you participate.
Our dentist buys back our candy and I love it. He usually does a food drive or donates to charity with it. Its a great way for the kids to see there dentist and not have all that candy, cavities, and tummy aches, but still have the fun of trick or treating.
Actually I had just heard it on our local news yesterday, a local dentist buy back candy a dollar a pound up to 5 pounds, will def be doing that this year 🙂
Nope. There’s a limit. Just like you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) send a teenager to sit on Santa’s lap every year, trick or treating is for small kids. And it’s not all good, clean fun when teenagers are involved.
I don’t have a problem with older trick-or-treaters, as long as they are respectable, especially when the young ones are close. We live in a neighborhood of 65 houses and half the kids are teens 12+. The majority of whom still got out every Halloween. I have not run into any issues with them.
No one is too old to trick or treat. Why limit the fun? You can never have too much good, clean and simple fun.
I had a carload of teenagers come to my house and my first thought was they are too old to trick or treating. My second thought was i would much rather them be out having good clean fun than out drinking or doing drugs. I was very happy to give them some treats. They were very respectful.