With Halloween quickly approaching, many high schoolers have started to discuss their plans; will they go trick or treating, or find their own celebrations and leave the candy for younger kids.
According to a survey by Today, 73% of respondents said that kids should stop trick or treating between ages 12-17.
This is quite a large gap considering you could either be in 6th grade or a senior in high school when it’s your last year walking around your neighborhood collecting your candy stash for the next 12 months.
However, some towns and communities have started to put age limits on trick-or-treating, in order to avoid teens from causing more chaos on Halloween night.
According to Fortune magazine, Chesapeake, Virginia limits the trick-or-treat age to kids 12 and under, and older trick-or-treaters can actually be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $100.
Other cities in Virginia have similar trick-or-treat age limit laws in place.
Many believe that teens trick-or-treating becomes an issue of public safety.
When reckless teens make poor decisions to drink, smoke, etc. the consequences cannot only harm them, but the little kids and families around them as well.
There are plenty of other options for teens to enjoy halloween night.
Whether it is handing out candy to kids, watching a spooky movie with friends, or going to a costume party, there are plenty of ways to still dress up and enjoy the holiday without taking away the fun from younger kids.
Unsupervised while trick-or-treating, highschoolers also might not act polite, responsibly, or kindly to the households giving them candy, and the fellow trick-or-treaters.
For example, if a large bowl of candy were left on the front porch of a house with a cute little note that reads, “Please take one,” the chances of anyone over the age of 12 actually listening to the note are very slim, and they would most likely end up pouring the entire bowl into their bag.
This is not only selfish because they are taking all the candy that was purchased by someone else for the entire neighborhood, but they are also taking joy away from a little kid who is so excited to be able to get another Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Snickers or Skittles.
If teens are old enough where they can operate a vehicle, that they can then drive to a grocery store to buy candy, they are probably too old to be running up and down streets on October 31 to take as many fun-sized pieces of candy as possible.
But if deemed absolutely necessary, that a 15 year old must go trick-or-treating, make sure to use manors: wait your turn, say please and thank you, only take one and actually say “trick-or-treat.”