The annual holiday of Halloween involves accessorizing the house with pumpkins, orange and black decor, and spooky scary skeletons. Of course, the main activity of Halloween consists of dressing up, going door to door, and yelling “Trick or Treat!” The beloved trick-or-treating tradition has been the staple of Halloween, mostly geared towards kids, but the definite age to stop can be controversial. It raises the question whether adolescents should dress up in costumes and collect candy from neighbors, or if the tradition should be reserved for kids (children 14 and below). Trick-or-treating should be an activity for children until high school, when those students can continue celebrating Halloween in alternative ways.
One may argue that the tradition should be available to all ages. If older teens dress the part and play by the rules, then they should be able to join younger kids in the festive activity. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always prove to be the case.
According to Parents.com, many places have age restrictions for trick-or treaters. In Chesapeake, Virginia, children must be under 12 years old to trick-or-treat or they may be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $100. The same constraint exists in Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Portsmith, and Norfolk. Teenagers have the reputation of being reckless and troublesome on Halloween by not obeying the “take 1 rule” or messing with youngsters, so law enforcements established policies to eliminate the threat. Immature behavior proves the primary reason why high schoolers should do movie marathons or go to a costume party instead of trick-or-treating.
Faith Daack (11), thinks that “[Children] should stop trick or treating at 14 when [they] start high school. Because at that point [they] are going to have other things to do, such as parties and hanging out with other people.” Samantha Campbell (11) states, “I think the age children should stop trick or treating is 13-14. Once middle school ends, that’s when people become mature. Freshman year is an exception, but every year after that should be spent partying or taking your siblings trick-or-treating.”
Trick-or-treating, as entertaining as it may be, should just be reserved for kids younger than high school. Children deserve to have this event all to themselves, because older teens may ruin the innocence and specialness of going door to door and receiving candy. Trick-or-treating should remain an adored childhood tradition for everyone.
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